Ready and Willing
by BonesBird
Summary: After Enterprise and Columbia are retired; Jon, Erika and the rest have to adjust to the rapidly changing situations in their lives. Romulan War Series continuation.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there all you SassCaptains fans! I'm starting posting this story while I'm in my lovely poolside hotel room (borrowing PinkAngel17's laptop to do it because she's a good friend). I am, as mentioned before, at Disney World with Pink and having a fabulous time. I'm taking the time out of my schedule to begin posting this fic as the awesome Amelia Elizabeth tweeted me earlier saying she had SassCaptains withdrawal. SO, AE, I hope this eases the symptoms. **

**This fic follows on directly from "The Romulan War Stories 8" in October 2161. The title comes from a New Found Glory song, and if you listen to the song you may recognize some of the themes contained in this fic. I hope you enjoy, and as always, please read and review.  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>October 30th 2161<strong>

Two weeks earlier Erika Hernandez had been sat in the stands as her husband had been promoted to admiral. Two weeks had change more than just his rank, it had also changed the amount of work he'd been having to do. She hadn't seen him without a PADD in his hand since the morning after the ceremony, and really it was getting time she said something. She had her own work to do, though hers was not quite as serious. She had started heading up the Captains liaison service. the day Jon had started his admirals duties. She had been thinking about taking some time off, but she wanted to get the liaison team up and running before she went on maternity leave. It gave the Captains one person they could contact if they had any concerns, then she could pass it through to the admirals, something she would have killed for. The fact Jon was working so much was certainly putting a dampener on her home plans. So she leant over the back of the sofa and just stared at him. "What are you doing?"

He looked away from the PADD and smiled at her, then looked back down almost immediately. "I have too many reports to read, way too many. I can't get through them all at work."

"Jon, you're supposed to be home." She stood up this time and walked around the sofa then wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed his cheek. "We've barely seen each other in the last couple of weeks, between your reports and my setting up, I miss you." She could put it on thick when she needed, but alongside it actually being true she was also worried he'd burn himself out.

He put the PADD down after a second and turned his head to kiss her gently before resting his forehead against her cheek. "I know, I'm sorry."

This reminded her of everything she'd wanted to bring up with him over the last couple of weeks. Most of them all because the part of her that had become dependant on planning really didn't like the ambiguity that their lives were currently filled with. "There is so much for us to do. We've not even spoken about middle names, or built anything, or bought anything." She had been thinking about the cradle, and about the other things they'd need for a baby.

"You're barely halfway through, Rike. We have plenty of time." Jon's calm words reminded her that they did technically have plenty of time to go. That didn't actually make her feel all that much better right now. If anything, she felt even more anxious. She was becoming aware that so much was still to be done and soon she wouldn't be able to do any of it.

Maybe this was what Maria had meant when she'd warned about Erika developing a desperate need to organise everything. Apparently it was common, and had a name, and she should just embrace it. Maybe she was making up that part herself. "I don't know, maybe I'm nesting, already?"

He looked at her seriously for a second then went back to resting his forehead against her cheek. "We'll go shopping on Saturday, maybe that will ease your mind."

"We need to go hunting for a new apartment too." While she loved their apartment, she'd loved it since he'd moved in many years earlier when they'd first broken up, she was also well aware that this was not the best place to bring a baby into. It was too small and would not be easy to sort things out for. As she thought about this she realised how much simpler her life would have been had she decided not to have a family. Not that she regretted it, it was just a lot easier to blame all her current worries on Jonathan and pretend that this wasn't scaring her to death. "I blame all this on you."

"Why is this my fault?" He asked and sat back. She took the opportunity and slid into the chair on the side of the table then look at him seriously.

"_I_ never wanted kids." She reminded him gently then pointedly looked down. Her belly was the opposite of the small bump she'd been hoping for. She had a beach ball under her pyjamas. There were the other worries that she just wasn't ready for this, and she was going to have so many problems and issues. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to do." She almost whispered, not really wanting to admit that.

"Have you even bothered to read that pregnancy book that Hoshi got you?" He asked, and she almost cursed him to the great God Imhotep. How did he know she hadn't read it.

"I skimmed it, more or less. Mostly less." It was a complete _less_ but she wasn't about to admit that.

Jon knew though, she could tell he did. She had never really been able to hide anything from it. His skill at knowing exactly what she was thinking was freakish. "Erika Amaralis Archer-Hernandez. You're not going to feel better if you don't do the required reading."

"Did you just use my Sunday name?" She asked, his scolding being dulled by the fact that he had used her first and middle names. That always became the centre of her attention, because he used her middle name so rarely.

"Sometimes it's the easiest way to get your attention." OK. He won that point. It did make her pay attention, and she would definitely be making sure that she read the book as soon as she could. "Why do you want to talk about names, we don't even know what we're having?"

Well, she didn't want to say what they were having, or know what they were having. Maybe she was old fashioned, but there were so few surprises left in the universe. Knowing the sex just wasn't what she wanted. "I want it to be a surprise. Your mother is convinced we're having a boy. So are Simon and Maria. But you think she's a girl, don't you?"

"I just have a feeling she's a girl." With that Jon leant forward and started talking directly to the bump, which while being a very sweet gesture, wasn't actually going to solve her problems. "Isn't that right, Bunny. You're a girl aren't you."

"Bunny?" She asked. There had been a lot of nicknames thrown about for the baby, but 'Bunny' hadn't been one of them.

Jon just smiled up at her and then looked back to the belly and smiled, patting it gently. "We can't keep calling her 'baby'."

"I like it, it's a good nickname." She made up her mind pretty quickly. As for them having a boy or a girl. She knew which one she'd prefer. "I think I'd prefer a boy, the mother-daughter dynamic terrifies me. Look at the problems I had with my mom, pretty much up until she met you, actually, when you took me home when dad died." Jon had managed to end 10 years of distance just by being him. Simon had always been closer to their mother. "She always seemed to be better with Simon. Simon and dad were always the one with issues."

"You'll be a great mom Rike." Jon muttered after a few minutes, his ear pressed against her stomach.

She started stroking the side of his head and smiled, thinking about the names for the baby. She wanted the names to be meaningless, and still go with the first name. She had an idea for the girl. Name her after someone she missed, someone who had had a huge impact on her life. "How about Veronica, for a middle name."

"You still miss her?" Jon moved round again and sat up properly, taking hold of one of her hands as she did. The fluttering movements of the baby seemed to realised their father was no longer listening to them and started speeding up.

"Probably always will, she was my best friend. I think it would be a nice tribute to her. What about Trip, for a boy? Well, Charles, not Trip." She thought that would work well too, and while Trip was still alive it was a nice way to honour his place in both their lives.

Jon looked at her with a smile after thinking it over, and they both knew they'd found their preferred middle names. Veronica and Charles. Jon was clearly thinking them all over too, and he looked at her with another smile. "Same first names?"

"We liked them last time, lets use them."

"You're right." He leant forward and kissed her, and it was really hard for her to pull away and not think about how much she'd missed his kisses. All of a sudden she started feeling tired again. "You know we should probably be asleep. Or I should be working. Or both. You should definitely be sleeping."

"Bunny is fine, she's actually kicking all hell out of me right now, I wouldn't sleep anyway." The baby seemed to enjoy squirming when she was exhausted.

"Hey, hey, kiddo." Once again, the second Jon's voice was directed toward their little miracle the movement changed completely, and Erika wondered what it was that made it so easy and effortless for him. "You need to calm down so mommy can get some sleep, and then, maybe she'll let daddy get some sleep or do his work."

"Jon, if I'm going to bed you're coming with me. You work too much. I don't even spend as much time translating as you do reading reports. So it's time you and I spend a whole night in bed together." She was going to stand firm on that. It had been too long since they last slept at that same time.

"I can accept those terms." Jon grinned, and let her pull him from the room. It was going to be nice falling asleep with him next to her, and feeling more secure in having him with her. Sometimes this all still terrified her, and she needed to be reminded that he was in this with her, in every way she possibly could take it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ooop. Looks like the first chapter was pretty well received. Sorry about the gap in posting. I didn't have very much time to update. I hope you all continue enjoying this! I'm off to Kennedy Space Centre tomorrow. PinkAngel17 is taking me on a fun tour!  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>November 2nd, 2161<strong>

Jonathan Archer was busy. Busier than he imagined he'd ever be. For years he'd been a Captain and he'd thought the busiest man in the universe. It was plainly obvious at this point that he'd had no idea exactly how busy the Admiralty could be. A few nights earlier, Erika had finally made him sleep for more than a couple of hours, and he was feeling refreshed from it. However, he was still drowning in reports and was therefore the opposite of calm and collected. He'd been sitting around and trying to work when he heard a cough from the doorway of his office. He looked up to see his old friend Sam Gardner stood there, clearly studying Jon from where he stood. "Haven't seen you around much the last couple of weeks?"

He was happy for another reprieve, so put down his PADD and waved to one of the more comfortable chairs dotted around his office. "I've been busy. So many reports to read." He waved at the pile on his desk.

"It's a balancing act, that's for sure." Sam nodded, and Jon realised that maybe his old friend had a lot of insight about this career, he'd been an admiral for close to eight years, and as far as Jon had seen Sam had never been quite as stressed as he was feeling right now.

"How do you manage it?" He might as well ask. Even if there wasn't an easy or obvious answer, at least he'd get some idea, he hoped. Maybe not a lot, maybe not even enough to change anything, but it would be something.

Sam looked at him with a smirk then shook his head. "I delegate better than you." He commented, and maybe there was a point there. Jon had never been great at delegation. He always worried that he would miss something if he didn't do it all himself. He was about to say something when Sam waved back out the now closed door. "You have an aide for a reason Jon. Let her read the majority, then you only read the ones that are important." Weren't they all important?

"Isn't that a problem. What if I miss something important to me but not to her?" That was surely the question, wouldn't it all be subjective? He would only see what she thought was important, rather than what he might consider important.

Sam rolled his eyes, and he realised exactly how likely it was that his friend was well aware of Jon's propensity for attempting to take on more than he could handle. "She's trained to spot important things. Let her help you and you'll find it a lot easier and you'll have more time to help Erika get ready for the baby." Sam apparently noticed the other part of his worries about what he was missing at home.

He knew that Erika would be happy to have him home more, and to have him actually paying attention to the things she was worrying about. "I think she'd be happy by that." She was worried about him missing things while working, and if he could put her mind at ease he probably should.

Sam, clearly was happy to hear that Erika would be happier. He just smiled then nodded to one of the pictures clearly visible from where they sat. "Speaking of her, how's Erika doing?"

"She's busy, but she's enjoying her new job a lot." He had been surprised that Erika had settled into her new position as quickly as she had. She'd always been one to be on the move, always wanting to be in the thick of the action. However her position on Earth was clearly a good fit for her, and it had become obvious that she was enjoying being able to tinker with communication systems again. "It's a good fit for her."

"Good, everyone was worried that she might be taking too much on." Sam looked like he had actually been concerned about Erika not being able to handle her position. Erika, however, would never have let something like pregnancy slow her down or stop her from enjoying her new position. Unlike him, she knew when it was best to take a break and when it was best to leave her work where it belonged, at work.

Other than that, Erika was just strong-willed enough that it wouldn't matter. "She's a force of nature, you know that as well as I do." They had both known Erika the same amount of time, sure, he'd known her in a much deeper way, but Sam had known her through dozens of situations and tests. "She's not letting the pregnancy stop her doing anything. She wanted to get the team all set up before going on leave."

"How long?" Sam asked, and it took him a moment to realise what he was being asked.

"Til she goes on leave?" He clarified, and he had to admit he didn't know. Erika wanted to work as long as she could, he knew that. She would work until the baby made her give up, he was already sure of that. "I think she was planning on working as long as she could, or as long as command will let her. She's well aware that she's the first high ranked officer to have a baby, but she is on Earth, so without being on the front line standard protections apply." He knew that she had worried that Sam or the admirals would try and make her take leave, so far they hadn't.

"I think we're all appropriately convinced Erika can keep things together." Sam confirmed, and all of a sudden Jon realised that he could pass on to Erika that she didn't need to worry about that right now. "You two ready for the baby?"

Was he ready for the baby? No, he wasn't, not even close to it. He was going to pretend he was completely in control when he was with Erika, but whenever anyone else asked him he was going to be honest and tell them that he was terrified. His family was quickly becoming a reality, and he was more than a little afraid of that, especially given everything he'd been through over the years. "Sometimes I think we are. Then I realise I'm terrified. I've faced the Suliban, the Xindi and the Romulans, but this baby scares me more than anything."

"You and Erika will figure everything out, you always were good at managing situations." Sam smiled, and for a moment Jon had to think what he could possibly mean. The only situations Jon could remember handling had never seemed to end that well.

"Good?" He asked, giving up thinking.

Sam grinned, and clearly knew what he was thinking, and how hard it was to put his finger on it. "You got us through the NX programme, and you two were the primaries out during the war. You'll do fine. I would have thought Erika would be struggling more."

"Well, she's as fearless as she ever has been." Erika would never let people see she was struggling if she didn't have to. Even if she was struggling. This time he could safely say she wasn't. Maybe occasionally she worried, but generally she didn't.

"After more than twenty years you'd know better than any of us." It was obvious that Sam was happy that both his friends were happy. "Say hello from me when you see her. I haven't seen her for a while, she doesn't answer to me."

"I will. I'll get her to come for a visit soon as possible."

"Thanks. I'll let you get on with your reports. Remember, Jonathan. Delegation." Sam grinned as he turned out of the doorway, leaving Jon with a lot to think about. Not only his reports and delegation, but of his own worries about being a father. It was all coming faster than he was really ready for, but he was excited too.


	3. Chapter 3

**So. I mde it home from the US and nothing bad happened. Now I'll be back updating this a lot more!  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>November 4th, 2161:<strong>

Erika had been glad to hear from Kiona and Kalil before the left, and when they'd realised it would be the youngest member of _Columbia_'s senior staffs' birthday, getting together for lunch had seemed like the best idea. She'd forgotten exactly when they'd been due to meet, and was therefore almost certainly late for this. She felt a little bad, but at the same time she was pregnant and cranky and didn't really feel like being sorry about anything. As she walked into the restaurant she spotted the other two and waved. "Hey you, you're getting big." Kalil said with a smile.

She wasn't really in the mood, but he did give her an opportunity to tease him about it."I'm still your superior." She replied, trying to glare at him as seriously as she could. Her years of training in keeping a poker face definitely helping.

"Not anymore, I'm a Captain too." Kalil replied with a grin, and he apparently hadn't caught that she hadn't mentioned ranks or officers. She just wanted to make that plainly obvious.

"I didn't say officer." She replied, and Kalil's face dropped, while Kiona started sniggering. "I'm just your superior." She continued, and this time Kiona's laughter made maintaining her poker face far too hard. In reality she was a little amazed that she'd held it as long as she had.

Kiona's laughing just got louder until she took a drink of water. "She's got you there Kalil."

Kalil's face dropped even further, if it was even possible. She really loved that they could all still riff off each other this way. It was one of the many things that had made _Columbia_ work as smoothly as it had. "That was mean." Kalil mumbled eventually, then handed Erika the menu.

"But accurate." She continued, just enjoying teasing Kalil. She always had enjoyed it. That was part of why she knew she'd hired the most perfect command staff for her. They had worked well together.

Kiona finally decided to start speaking properly, and she looked between the two of them then settled on Erika. Looking a little softer. "How are things going?"

"They're going, same as always I think." She didn't want to bring their conversation down to the level of what she'd been dealing with for the last few hours. It was beginning to drive her to the brink. She just wanted to pretend that the Captains were not causing her a giant problem.

Both Kiona and Kalil looked at her seriously, and then Kalil sat forward, obviously shaking of his teasing and beginning to look worried, as if there might be something seriously wrong rather than her just being grumpy. "Erika?"

She waved a hand in front of her face and shook her head. "It's nothing." It only took a second before she realised they were both giving her the opportunity to open up about what she was worrying about. "I've just been having to deal with some of the Captains and none of them are happy right now." The Captains were rarely happy, but they were rarely as universal in their unhappiness.

"Why?" Kiona asked, and Erika had to think how much she could disclose without breaching her own rules.

There were almost certainly ways she could say this without going into details. She could just imagine how this would play if she said too much. "Because the admiralty are trying to push through some new regulations on crew rotations that the Captains claim takes time away from them actually doing very serious and important things." Despite the amount of time she'd spent as a war time captain, she still didn't know what 'serious and important' things the other Captains were worried about.

"Do I want to know what serious and important things those are?" Kiona asked, and it took a lot for Erika not to roll her eyes, even though that was exactly what she'd just been thinking.

"Probably not, 'cause I don't know why." Eventually she wanted to know, but apparently nobody could explain it to her.

Kalil looked serious, and Erika realised that he was in an awkward point. He was a brand new captain, and his former CO was still going to be his CO for a while. "So basically they are causing trouble because they can?"

"Yeah. That's the one. Anyway, what are you two doing?" She really wanted to focus on something other than the crap she was having to sit through in her own office.

Kiona and Kalil looked between each other then smirked, and Kiona was the first person to answer. It was good to know these two were still a double-act, despite the weeks now since _Columbia_ had been decommissioned. "We're both leaving in the next few days, so I'm glad we got time to do this before we left."

Kalil looked at her seriously, and Erika wondered where he was going next. "You're gonna have a baby by the time we get back. A little you."

"I have a feeling this baby will end up taking more after Jon than after me." She was almost sure this baby would be just like Jonathan, it was what she'd always thought when they had planned a family. But regardless of the conversation, they weren't supposed to be talking about her. "We're not supposed to be talking about me, we're supposed to be focusing on something else. Really anything else." She would beg for a change of subject.

Everyone trailed off as food arrived, then Kiona, completely uncaring of everything that was going on and clearly just said whatever first came into her mind. "Kalil's wife made him get the snip."

"Good for Faisa." Erika smirked. She would possibly do the same to Jonathan after they'd had that many children. She was considering it just after one.

Kalil clearly wasn't happy that he was back to being teased, but as usual he took it in good humour. "You women are evil."

"We women? How many children did she have with you?" Erika asked, already knowing the answer but thinking that Kalil needed a reminder that they all knew.

"Eight." Kalil admitted a little sheepishly.

"You should not be allowed to speak any longer." Kiona glared at him, then waved her hand in the direction of Erika, who wasn't entirely sure she was happy about being used as an example. Especially not an example of things that shouldn't be said in front of pregnant people. "Especially not given that Erika's sat here all pregnant like."

Kalil clearly forgot that Erika was actually sat there right beside him. "She is not pregnant by me though."

She held both her hands up, trying to stop this conversation exactly where it was now. She didn't need to hear any more, and she didn't really want to know where Kalil would have taken it. "Whoa, this conversation just turned really awkward for me."

"Sorry. I couldn't resist." Kiona said, holding her hands up and trying to look like she regretted how awkward it had gotten suddenly. She didn't fool anyone. They all knew she wasn't at all sorry about it.

"Aren't we here because it would be Sidra's 30th birthday?"

Erika nodded, feeling sad all of a sudden, being remembered how young most of her crew had been. "That was why we were having lunch, but it seems like you've been distracted, and I no longer know if I have the thoughts to go through with any of it." She didn't have what she had originally wanted to say in her mind.

"Have you realised that we have now all outlived the colleagues we lost in age." It took Erika a second to realised what Kiona was saying, but thankfully, she managed to realise her statement wasn't as clear as maybe she'd wanted it to be. "I passed Veronica at my last birthday." 35 years old, that had been how old her best friend had been.

"I was always older than the lot of you." She hated that. She hated that she had survived while so many of her junior officers hadn't. "I still feel awful that so many young lives were lost on my watch. What exactly have I done to deserve surviving all of the war?"

"You've got Jon, and the baby, and all of us. We're all glad that you made it." Kiona smiled, and patted Erika's bump gently. It was a little bit of an awkward feeling, but at least it reminded her that there was a lot that they had succeeded for. Including starting the family that so many others had torn from them during the war. It was important that she leave it here, and that she had a lot to look forward to.


	4. Chapter 4

**The boys do some bonding in this chapter, and talk about being dads.**

**I recently passed the milestone of 5 years since I started writing and posting here. In that time I've written in 7 different fandoms for a dozen different pairings. Here's to the next 5 years, huh (in which I'll probably keep writing Enterprise, I'm not going to pretend differently)  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>November 7th, 2161<strong>

Jon wasn't entirely sure why he and Trip had been nominated for bringing Tosh to the park. It was almost empty, being quite cold, but it wasn't stopping the toddler running around all the toys and equipment on the playground. The two men had settled on a nearby park bench and were now just talking about Starfleet and keeping an eye on Toshiko and making sure she didn't get into too much trouble. Especially since she was active, and enjoyed getting into everything. Jon just pointed and let Trip do his fatherly duties. "Tosh, get down."

"I can't believe she's nearly three." It was hard to believe, given that it was hard to believe that anything that had happened in the last 10 years was actually true, including Toshiko, and sometimes even their relationships. Relationships were definitely an interesting one when thinking about Trip Tucker, but Jon was also tactful enough not to mention it.

Trip, however, didn't seem to have any of the same thoughts Jon did, instead he just watched his daughter with a grin on his face. "You're telling me. Look what I done."

"You did nothing, Hoshi is completely to thank for this one." There was so little input that Trip had had in Tosh. Even now he was mostly out on patrol and backing up the other ships as the Captain of a Corps of Engineers ship. Hoshi did a lot of the work.

"Do you think the same for yours?" Trip asked, and for once that was an easy question for him to answer, it was absolutely all on Erika.

"Oh yeah." So far, since they'd conceived their baby, all the work was Erika's. She was the one who had to deal with the bump, and the cravings, and the mood swings. Not to mention she was the one the press spoke about. He was normally just mentioned as her husband. This was all Erika, and she was doing it perfectly. Just as he'd always assumed she would. "Erika's the one putting in the hard work."

"Are you excited?" Trip asked, and Jon felt as if his smiled would actually break off his face. It was such a happy, exciting time for him, for all of them.

Especially he and Erika though. They had been waiting for this for such a long time. That didn't stop him being terrified, and worried. So much could still go wrong, in the pregnancy or with their baby. He knew there were a lot of things that could happen and he would dwell on them whenever he was asked this question. "For the baby. Yeah."

"Jon?" Trip asked, clearly not buying what he said. It was probably for the best that he was sat with someone he trusted with everything.

He wasn't sure if Trip would understand how he felt. He and Hoshi had only been together for a year when Toshiko made her appearance in their life. Erika had been in his life for more than twenty years. This was all he'd wanted, but he couldn't help but worry that is would go wrong. "You ever wanted something so much that when it's within your grasp you're absolutely terrified?"

"A few times." Trip's sympathetic smile told Jon that actually he understood perfectly. "Is that what you're thinking about this baby?"

"Yeah. I felt the same when Erika finally said we could get married too. I was so sure the Romulans would find a way to ruin that for me." He had. Every night he had scoured the reports and had never been able to fall asleep until he could find Erika's name, or _Columbia_ listed as having made it through. Some days he was still afraid that he'd wake up and realise that none of this had happened. That he was still on _Enterprise_ in the height of the war. Those were the nights he'd wake up suddenly, and Erika would have to remind him that she was there.

Trip just rolled his eyes and shook his head, and Jon knew that meant he was being stupid. "They didn't, and now almost a year later you're getting ready for the baby."

"She's only just a little more than halfway through you know." There was more 'getting ready' involved than he thought. He'd never quite realised everything that went into having a child. He was mostly glad to know that Erika had an idea of what they needed.

"I know, I can count." There was a level of sarcasm in that response that Jon had rarely heard from someone other than Erika. It was good that Trip was keeping track. "She's due at the beginning of March right?"

He had to think for a while. It was right at the beginning of March. He'd spent much of the last few days laughing about how the due date was exactly three weeks after his birthday. By his birthday and their anniversary they would have a baby due any day. "March 5th. Yes."

"Know what you're having yet?" That was a different matter entirely. He was sure someone knew what they were having. That 'someone' wasn't him. Erika kept telling him that they would find out when she was born. He didn't need a doctor to tell him. He just knew it was a girl.

"Nope, Erika won't let me find out. I have been sure that she's a girl though."

They'd known the names for probably 15 years. They hadn't changed, and he knew they were sticking to those names. They had also agreed not to share the name until the baby was born, it was bad luck. But Trip had asked every time the baby was brought up in conversation. "Names?"

"Still not telling you." He grinned, Trip was persistent, that was true.

"Baby?" Tosh shouted then launched herself into Trip's arms. It felt odd to be having this conversation where Tosh could be used so obviously to try and convince him to do something they all knew he wasn't willingly going to do.

"Yes, names for the baby. Tell uncle Jon he needs to tell us." Trip muttered to his daughter, and Jon knew this was a problem. Two Tucker's asking him for something was almost impossible to reject.

Tosh, as usual, couldn't ignore a request from her father. "Tell us!"

"I can't Toshie. I promised aunty Erika." He really hated not being able to tell Tosh something she wanted to know. It was always hard because she'd give him a lip-quivering look that would melt him, he normally ended up giving in to her. He wanted to survive the night though, so not keeping the secret would be too painful for him.

Trip chuckled as Tosh made her desire to get down obvious. After she had run off Trip looked at him seriously and smiled again. "Still hard to believe that you two are finally settling down."

"We'll find ways to be explorers even from home." He'd always been trying to find a way to explore from his living room or his office. He'd find a way eventually. Trip, however, always seemed happier on Earth than when they went to visit. "Fatherhood always suited you."

"You know, I never thought it would." He remembered that Trip hadn't always really wanted a family. He'd thought about it, but never decided. Not until something gave him the idea. "Then Elizabeth happened and I realised that I could have been a good father. T'Pol and I were long over by then."

He vaguely remembered that they'd be involved for a short time, but he'd had other things going on and hadn't paid any attention until Terra Prime had made him. "I remember. Or should I say, I remember what you've told me since. I was pretty indifferent and unaware at the time."

Trip, at least, understood all the other problems that had come up during the last few years. "There were other concerns for you. The Xindi, then we came home and you reconnected with Erika, then almost immediately we had the Andorians and the Vulcans and the Romulans." That was true. The last few years was all action, and all battles and only now was he able to catch his breath and think. "This is probably the first chance you've had where we're not starting or stopping a war."

"If you saw the way our mothers go at it you wouldn't believe. I'm amazing Erika's mom even knows what's going on." He was sure that Lita and Sally were in their own private war over their as-yet-unborn grandchild.

"Why Erika's mom?" That was an interesting question, that was hard to answer too, because Erika hadn't spoken to anyone about it through the years that it had been going on.

"She's got pretty bad Alzheimer's." He shrugged, at this point there was really no point trying to hide it. It wouldn't work anyway. "It's been a problem for a few years now, and normally she doesn't follow things anywhere near this easily."

"Maybe the knowledge of a new grandchild has given her something to focus on."

"Baby!" Tosh ran back over, and it was obvious she knew whenever they were talking about the new baby that was on the way.

"Tosh is excited for a cousin. In case you can't tell."

"Let's all focus on being as excited as Tosh is. Maybe that'll stop me overthinking everything." Jon had to admit he was prone to doing that. He often over-thought the problems and situations at home. Things had been going better since he'd taken Sam's advice and learnt to delegate more to his aide. Between that and Erika's workload reducing by a little every week they had plenty of time to prepare for having their baby. He was excited, but he was also terrified.


	5. Chapter 5

**The boys do some bonding in this chapter, and talk about being dads.**

**I recently passed the milestone of 5 years since I started writing and posting here. In that time I've written in 7 different fandoms for a dozen different pairings. Here's to the next 5 years, huh (in which I'll probably keep writing Enterprise, I'm not going to pretend differently)  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>November 9th 2161<strong>

She hadn't had the easiest day, and finding a pair of pyjamas that actually fit her right now was harder than she expected. Maybe it was the constant little thoughts and comments by her officers just trying to make a joke with her that she felt like she was giant. Mostly because of how easy it was for her to see the size of the bump and equal it with how she was feeling. She knew it was healthy, but that wasn't that helpful. She climbed into bed and just said the one thing that had been bugging her all day. "I'm as big as a house."

"Yes you are." Jon replied, not even looking up from his PADD, she just stared at him for a few minutes, hoping that it would shame him into apologising for what he had said.

Eventually she just elbowed him, hard, in the ribs and glared. "Oi!"

"Sorry, I was just agreeing with you." Jon finally put down his PADD and looked at her with a slight smile. He was absolutely certain that he was in the clear, and the problem was that in the mood she was in at the moment she didn't know if she wanted to jump him or kill him. Maybe both. That would take the romance out of the night, wouldn't it?

"You could have disagreed with me in this case, I wouldn't have been mad." She commented, and he just smirked even wider. Making her internal 'jump or kill' argument even harder to decide.

"Well, sometimes you know..." He was trying to use his puppy dog face. The fact that Porthos wasn't in the bed made it easier for him to do that, the actual puppy being on the floor. "It's not the easiest to know when I'm allowed to disagree."

She narrowed her eyes and glared at him again, the bastard was actually enjoying winding her up like this. She was going to have to make him pay eventually. She would find a way to do it too. As for how he should _know_ when to disagree with her, he should ask his best friend. "Ask Trip, I'm sure he'll tell you that if your pregnant partner says something about them being as big as a house, always disagree on automatic."

"So noted." He smirked, and she elbowed him again. She couldn't help but smile when he pulled her into his side and wrapped her up. Ending up resting a hand on the side of the bump where their baby was throwing a party. While they didn't know what it was, Jon's certainty that they were having a daughter had them generally calling her a girl. "What makes you think Trip would know?"

"He's already had a baby." She commented and rolled her eyes. There was a lot that Trip could tell Jon about dealing with a pregnant spouse. Sure Trip and Hoshi weren't married, but they had had Toshiko. Thinking about Trip made her realise she hadn't spoken to him for a few days, that wasn't exactly the most normal of circumstances. Made her wonder if Jon had spoken to him. "Hey, did you talk to Trip today?"

"No, he was going on a nine day system tour." Jon squeezed her gently then smiled, clearly knowing exactly what her worry was. What would Hoshi think if he missed Tosh's birthday this year? That little girl idolised her father, and he doted on her. "Should be back for Tosh's birthday."

"Good." She had to admit, knowing he was back was no doubt going to save them all a lot of trouble. As Jon refocused on whatever report he was reading, she ended up just studying the side of his face. After everything they had been through in the last twenty years, this was the first time they'd actually been living together as a family. They'd lived together fifteen year earlier, but it hadn't been in such a family way. They were happier now than they had been then.

Clearly, the attention she was giving him was making him a little uncomfortable, or was making him think he'd done something wrong again. "Erika, you're staring." He started, and she made the mental decision that telling him exactly what she was thinking about was actually, probably, a bad idea.

"Do you think I'm as big as a house?" She asked again, the conversation coming back to what she'd been thinking about when she'd gotten into bed rather than what she was concerned about now. This would pass, it was all related to the fact that she was thinking about him rather than any actual worry. She did feel like a house though, and a little bit of reassurance was going to help.

"Of course I don't. You're looking great." He squeezed her again, and then he turned to her properly and kissed her hard. It took her by surprise, but she didn't exactly find it a bad thing either. When he pulled back he just looked at her with concern and frowned. "What's brought this about tonight?"

She shook her head, not wanting to worry him, but there was something bothering her. Only because of her team, and those little comments that really shouldn't bother her, and normally wouldn't bother her. "It seems like I'm finally showing enough that at work there is a lot of discussion about whether or not I can fit behind my desk, and in shuttlepods and similar." She could fit easily in both cases, but she could understand why there was the joking worry.

"Well, you seem to not be having too many problems, it's probably just teasing." She knew that, but hearing Jon say it helped her focus on that too. Knowing that it probably _was_ teasing like she'd assumed was helpful. "You know most of your team, right?" That was another good question. She had hired her team, every one of them, and she knew them all well enough to know it wasn't malicious.

"Yeah, I basically hired anyone I knew who had a decent ear." That was a lot of people, so she'd only hired the very best. "I even tried hiring Hoshi but she wasn't interested in a position again. She just wants to be a mom and a teacher." Maybe she'd feel differently when the baby came, but she couldn't really imagine herself ever being content to not be shaping events.

Jon didn't seem as surprised as she had been that Hoshi had turned down her offer. "She always enjoyed teaching, that's what she was doing before _Enterprise_ too." She remembered that, somewhere in Brazil she seemed to remember back then. She'd seen Hoshi as a trainee, before she'd taken a leave to go teaching. She'd been so young.

"I know, remember. I'm the one who pointed you in her direction." Hoshi had been perfect for _Enterprise_, so she'd kept whispering in his ear about how talented she was, and about how she would be great for his ship. It clearly worked, since Hoshi had been his first choice.

"Oh yeah." He was playing dumb, so she just rolled her eyes and smirked. "So, is the bump getting in the way?"

There was no reason for her not to admit that there was a little more to why she was annoyed than just that it felt like she was as big as a house. "A little, not too much." It wasn't the size that was a problem, it was that their little one was the problem. "She gets in the way more when she decides to do somersaults in the middle of meetings. I end up looking a bit seasick apparently." That had been a more interesting conversation than she wanted to admit, and the image of them rotating had made her feel seasick.

Jon just grinned and squeezed her again, putting the PADD down on the bedside table and then wrapped both of his arms around her, resting his hands on the bump. It managed to calm the squirming mass of limbs. "Probably because she dances."

"How do you know that?" She asked, he was right of course, but she still wanted to know how he knew.

Once again he rolled his eyes at her, and the level of sass in their room tonight would have been enough to power a warp engine. There was clearly something putting them in both their moods. "We share a bed Erika, just because you're asleep it doesn't mean little miss Archer sleeps." Well, that would explain it. Half the time she fell asleep because she was exhausted, rather than because the baby was letting her. "She dances in the middle of the night from time to time."

"That must be cute?" She couldn't help but laugh at the whole idea, it was such a ridiculous thought but she wondered what it would look like to see this going on and not be the one in pain from it.

"It is." Jon looked so happy in that moment, and she realised that he was just happy about everything that was going on right now. It was nice to know they could settle down now. "It's just another reason why I'm looking forward to meeting her."

"You're just looking forward to being a dad, really." She poked him gently in the stomach and laughed, it was cute. She hadn't seen him this excited about anything in a long time, so it was nice to know he could still be excited for some things. When he blushed a little she just poked him again. "Aren't you?"

"I'm not going to deny that." He smirked, and she could tell that was exactly what he wanted, to be able to say he wasn't excited.

She burst out laughing then kissed his cheek. There was something about the way he was being that reminded her of when they'd first met and he'd been the exhausting, hyperactive young lieutenant who had driven her round the bend as she'd tried to keep control of him. "You're a dork. A giant, stupid dork."

"Well we've both waited long enough for that. Aren't you excited?" That was the question, and the answer went both ways, she wasn't sure how happy he'd be with it.

"Of course I'm excited, it just seems like a lot." She was going to have to explain it but she wasn't sure Jon would actually want to listen to her complain again about being the size of the house. "Especially when I'm lugging what feels like a shuttlepod around on my front. It's tiring."

"I bet, I wish I could help you more." Jon frowned a little, and all she could do was pat his cheek gently.

"You help plenty love." She ended up dropping her hand on top of his and smiling as the baby finally began actually settling down. She might sleep soon, and then Erika herself would be able to sleep. "You know she'll be here in a few weeks. 15 weeks. We're due another appointment soon."

"Can we find out what we're having this time?" He asked, just to try. She had been certain before that she wasn't going to be finding out what she was having before the birth.

She shook her head and groaned. "Nope."

There was a lot that they could learn, but she still wasn't letting Jon find out for sure. "OK then." He mumbled and kissed her cheek.

"Can we go to sleep?" She asked, since the baby was settling down she wanted to sleep again.

"Sure, I'll put my light out." He smiled, and she just cuddled down again trying to get as comfortable as she could. It was getting harder and harder as the weeks went on, but it was still something to remind her that all this was real. In no time at all she'd be comfortable again, but she'd probably not be sleeping a lot then. That wasn't how it worked when you had a baby.


	6. Chapter 6

**And now we have the Federation signing ceremony.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>November 14th 2161<strong>

He'd been pacing around this small anteroom since they'd arrived here an hour earlier. Erika had collapsed onto the sofa in a yellow summer dress. She'd been asked not to wear her uniform, given that she was here as support rather than as an officer. She was apparently getting annoyed with him. For the first time since they'd come in she got off the sofa and stood in front of him, stopping his progress by wrapping her arms around him. "Come here, nerd."

"That's the fifth time in four days you've called me a nerd." He laughed a little at the joke, it was becoming her pet name for him, at least when he was being a particular bag of nerves.

"Blame Carla, I've been getting daily letters." Why didn't that surprise him. He knew that she and Amelia were here with Erika's brother somewhere in the crowd, probably in the VIP section. He wanted to make sure the girls were proud of him, and he was sure that by now Erika would have completely rewritten his speech. The thought of the girls reminded him that he had indeed received a few letters from Carla about not being a 'total nerd' in his speech.

He was going to live in denial though, because she was his favourite, even though he wasn't supposed to have favourites. "I can't see Carla calling me a nerd."

"Carla is always calling you a nerd, just not to your face." Erika smiled mischievously and Jon was now sure that she was just _trying_ to get on his nerves. It would be the easiest way to make him explode and therefore lose all his stress, but he also wasn't at all feeling like that was the way to go. Today he needed to focus.

"Did you rewrite my speech?" That was one of the things he'd been counting on. He was a great public speaker, but he wasn't so great at writing speeches, or giving them on the spot. He'd proven that time and time again.

"I polished the speech you wrote. It's mostly your work." That made him feel a little more confident. Erika had looked through his speech and had approved it. She wouldn't let him make a fool out of himself again, not when not it would reflect on her too.

"Good." That was when he decided he wanted to talk to the youngest member of their growing family. He knelt down, then put his hands either side of Erika's bump. "Hey Bunny, one day I'm going to show you this and tell you all about how you were here the day I did this." That was a promise. He'd tell her every detail he remembered.

"Jonathan you look ridiculous. Bunny's happy though." Erika patted her bump, and even Jon could feel her doing a very happy dance against the walls of Erika's stomach. He couldn't quite believe how she had reacted. Clearly it wasn't helping Erika much.

He really didn't care about looking ridiculous, because making sure that his baby was involved in one of the most important things he'd ever done mattered more. "I don't care, I want the baby involved too."

It was at that moment he heard the commotion of Hoshi, Travis and Toshiko arriving into the anteroom with them. Toshiko clearly happy in the arms of her uncle Travis. "You look ridiculous." Hoshi was the first one to speak, and Jon couldn't help but laugh.

He just shook his head and laughed, then managed to stand up and smile at everyone. "I know I do."

"Jon!" He heard, then turned away from Erika's bump in time to catch a flying toddler who had flung herself at him. It had been a very long time since someone had thrown themselves at him, and he quite liked the reminder.

He kept hold of the toddler until she pulled away, then he just thought of what he could ask her so that she would stay with Erika. "Toshie, are you going to keep aunt Erika and the baby company while I'm talking to all those people." He motioned to the opening to the auditorium, and was sure the noise from outside was obvious even to a toddler.

"Yeah!" The little one nodded, then threw her arms back around Jon's neck.

Apparently he wasn't going to get rid of her easily. So instead he stood up and held Toshiko. "Good." He chuckled then reached out and shook Travis' hand. He hadn't seen his former helmsman in a while, so it was nice that he'd made it here.

Travis, it seemed, was a little worried about what Jon was going to do today, he looked toward the opening to the auditorium. "You ready for this Admiral?"

"I don't think I'll ever be ready for this." He shook his head, smiling as Erika's hand slipped into his free one. It was obvious at this point that they were all little nervous about this, he should try and let go of his nerves, and let everyone else worry for him.

"Did you write your speech?" Hoshi asked, and looked even more worried. He was even more glad now that Erika had rewritten parts of it. That was a good thing, and helpful because Hoshi was worried about what he'd say too.

"Erika looked it over, believe me there will be no repeat of the gazelles."

Travis burst out laughing, and all Jon could do was pretend to glare at him until Travis controlled himself enough to speak. "The gazelles may have been ridiculous, but they were hilarious too."

"We're making him more nervous." Erika said, and Jon squeezed her hand tightly then let go and put Tosh down, letting her run around. "Hey Phlox." She commented and waved, making Jon look over his shoulder to see his former medical officer walking in too. He was happy that the officers he'd served with and trained who were able to be here were with him.

That was probably because he hadn't expected so many people to be there with him. he had thought it would just be him and Erika. "I didn't expect so many people to be here. Thank you." He smiled around then looked at Erika as he heard the end of the person speaking before him and the applause beginning. "Are you staying back here?" He asked Erika, hoping she wouldn't have trouble.

"Yeah, Starfleet don't want one of their captains on the news with a giant belly while their husband preaches to the universe." She smirked and looked down then shook her head. "What about you two?" She looked up to Hoshi and Travis who looked between each other and smiled.

Hoshi looked between the two of them, then clapped at the toddler who was heading for the stairs. "We were going to go sit and watch if Tosh wanted to stay here. Want to stay with Aunt Erika?" Hoshi asked, Tosh nodded then threw herself at Phlox.

"She'll keep me company, plus Bunny isn't liking all the noise." Jon looked at Erika and noticed her making the same cringing faces she made when Bunny was being too active for her to be comfortable with. She nodded at the wall and Jon just smiled, squeezing her hand again. "There are screens in here, I can watch."

"OK, we'll be out there and come in when Jon is done." Travis smiled, then headed toward the exit to the main corridor, heading back toward the seats, Hoshi followed him a minute later.

"I will be on that sofa, not moving." Erika pointed, giving a quick wave to Hoshi as they left, then she just wandered up to the stairs to look out.

Phlox was then the next one to give him some confidence, and Jon had to admit, these well-wishes were working. "Admiral, I am proud to have known you all these years." Phlox said, and Jon just smiled, shaking the Denobulan doctor's hand.

"Thanks Phlox, at this point you should call me Jon too."

"I will, Jon. I'll stay back here with Captain Hernandez." Phlox smiled at Erika, then looked back to Jon.

"Call me the fat one. Or Erika, you know. Whichever you prefer." He had to laugh at Erika's joke, she was clearly beginning to get used to the size, a change from a few days earlier.

He heard the end of his introduction, and he knew it was time for him to go. Other than the fact his tie was still ridiculously messed up. "Alright, I should go. Can you fix my thing?"

"Sure. I love you, alright. Your speech is on the prompters." She smiled, finishing tying his tie.

He smiled, glad that Erika had done that too. He had completely forgotten that the prompters would need copies of his speech, it was a sign of how strong her worry was when she said she loved him right away. "I love you too. Toshie, give me a kiss for luck."

"Luck!" Toshiko shouted then jumped up and down before she ran to Phlox on the other side of the anteroom, he was glad of one second more with Erika.

"Thanks. I'll see you soon." He stepped away from his wife after giving her another little kiss. He was ready for this, it was going to be something that kicked off the rest of their lives, and a new era for Earth. That was what he needed to believe in, and what he was sure he was doing too. There was a lot riding on this speech, but he could do it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Erika and Jon take a few minutes away while at a party.  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>November 14th, 2161<strong>

Erika had been enjoying the party so far, walking around the people and connecting with anyone she could, right now it seemed like she, Hoshi and Faisa el-Rashad were the ones who ended up stood together in a corner passing judgement on everyone who walked through the door. Right now though they were watching Jon dance with one of the el-Rashad kids, Toshiko firmly planted on his hip where she'd been all night. "He's cocky now." Faisa was the first one to speak, which was good because tonight Erika was not great at conversing.

Hoshi, it seemed, understood that Erika was having far too much trouble answering anything. "Do you blame him, he did well!"

"He did." Faisa agreed after a few seconds.

When they both looked at her she just shook her head and laughed. "Right now I'm finding it really hard not to jump him." That was the truth, because she was having a lot of trouble focusing otherwise.

"Hormones." The two women said at exactly the same time, causing Erika to roll her eyes at both of them. It was clear they at least understood. Probably not surprising given they were both mothers too. She couldn't blame it all on hormones though, she had regularly wanted to jump Jon for most of their lives together.

"Shut up. I often had this problem before I was pregnant." She admitted, once again causing the other two women to laugh very loudly. It was probably time she change the subject, and try and focus on something else. "I think my changes to the speech worked well."

"What did you change?" Faisa asked, and Erika and Hoshi shared a quick look. It was that moment they both remembered that Faisa didn't know Jon, and had never spent much time with him.

"Almost all of it, not that I told Jon that." Hoshi nodded while Faisa suddenly realised why they'd laughed. "He likes to think he's better at writing speeches than he is. So from now on I'm just going to keep modifying them and pretending he did fine on his own." That was probably the best, otherwise Jon would end up with failing confidence and it would cause more trouble than was probably safe for her to think about. He got grumpy.

Hoshi nodded, looking back at Jon who was now being climbed on by almost every child at the party. "Not telling him is probably a good idea. How long do you have left now?" Hoshi glanced at the bump and then smirked, looking as if she wasn't enjoying this.

"Just less than 14 weeks. I go on maternity at New Year." She was glad that he was nearly going to be done, and she was actually looking forward to the New Year. She would be able to relax.

"Lay in bed and let Jon get you anything you like." Faisa grinned, giving Erika the best advice she'd heard in a long time. It was clear she thought so too. "That's what everyone should do when it comes to third trimester."

Erika shook her head and looked down to her enormous bump. Bunny certainly made sure she had enough space to move about, that was her thoughts on it anyway. "I'll be ready to pop by then. People think I'm ready now." She was large, and it annoyed her because she had hoped she'd have a tiny bump. Every time she'd seen Faisa while she'd been pregnant it had been been a tiny bump.

"Probably because, like with Hoshi, you're so tiny the bump looks huge." OK, that would make some sense. She and Hoshi were almost the same height, and weight.

"You're not much bigger than us and you looked tiny when you were pregnant!" She was glad Hoshi had spoken, because right now all Erika could do was laugh. Hoshi seemed so angry about Faisa's tiny bumps too. At least that was her problem.

"Couple of inches makes all the difference." Faisa smirked, then burst out laughing.

Erika's only thought meant she was going back toward the rather lustful thoughts she'd had about Jon a few minutes earlier. She, thankfully, wasn't the one to voice the thought, apparently Hoshi was in the same place. "Oh, don't we know."

"Don't you know what?" She heard from behind her, then a pair of arms slipped around her shoulders. It was nice to know that he still had a knack for showing up whenever something rude was going down.

"Nothing, Jonathan. Faisa and Hoshi were just being rude." Erika snarked, and the two women smiled sweetly then turned away.

"Oh. They don't have to go anywhere." Jon came around then looked between her and the two women, shaking his head gently. She suddenly was really glad of her friends leaving, because she was happy that they were going to get a little bit of time together. She was getting more and more used to being at home all the time, and spending nearly all of that time with Jon.

Which she was really glad about. "I think they just want to give us the chance to be alone." She smiled and slipped her hand into his, then stepped onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. It was at that moment she realised that the kids were nearly all screaming, another reason their friends had probably moved on. "Plus with all the kids they should probably go find theirs."

"This is the first time I've ever seen Faisa when she's not pregnant." Jon commented after a minute, and Erika just nodded again and smiled. That had been her thought when she'd seen Faisa too, but it was nice to know they were done.

"Well that's probably because she's spent most of the last decade pregnant, at least when we've been in dock." Mostly because when they'd been in dock had been when she ended up pregnant again. She was very happy that Faisa and Kalil seemed happy. "She is clearly happy though, and I think Kalil was too."

"Why wouldn't he be? He has a big family and a lovely wife. It's basically everything that we're both hoping for." That was a sweet thought, and it made her happier to know that she had that to look forward to. This baby was going to be their little miracle, which would keep them both happy.

So yes, Jon had a point, why wouldn't Kalil be happy. "This is true, I'll give you that."

"What did you think of my speech?" Now she was going to have to lie, again, and tell him that it was wonderful. It might be easier for her to just say something that was a joke, rather than try and give him another glowing review. His ass had been kissed enough by the people here tonight.

"I thought that I made the text userproof." She laughed, then elbowed him gently. It was easy, sometimes, to say something like that to Jon and not let him argue with her about it.

He gave a ridiculous face, then pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply before pulling her back and rolling his eyes. "Ouch."

She instead just looked at him a few minutes, then fixed his tie again even though he was clearly not going to need it all that much longer. "I was very proud of you today Jonathan." It was true, and he had looked so in control and commanding while doing it. That was something she always admired, and she was so proud that he'd made it this far. "I've always been proud of you."

"Good, because I want this Federation to stick around." Jon smiled and pressed his forehead against hers, which made her a lot happier than she would have thought. It was like they were hidden away in this corner. "You and I need something stable for Bunny when she, or he, is old enough to be signing up." Whoa, he wanted to think about their baby joining Starfleet. That was not something that she wanted.

"Honestly, Jonathan, I don't think I'd be unhappy if this baby stayed far away from Starfleet." That was the only way she could explain it. If Bunny told her that she didn't want to be in Starfleet she'd probably sing the hallelujah chorus naked. There was too much in the universe she'd seen, and none of them had been as great as she'd once imagined. "We've seen too much to accept that they could sign up to be hurt, or killed, in a war they disagree with." That was what she and Jon had faced. Their son or daughter facing it, she didn't want to imagine.

"Yeah. Maybe they'll be an artist, or a musician?" That was definitely possible. Both she and Jon were musically talented, she'd never been good at instruments, but she could sing. Jon could do it all but he rarely did, he was quite shy about it.

But that would be perfect. If they could convince Bunny away from Starfleet it would almost certainly be worth it. "Well, you and I both have a musical ear." She finally gave him that confirmation that she wanted.

"That much is true." He smiled, and she laughed a little at him, because it was hilarious to see him getting so excited. "So I can hope right?"

She kissed the end of his nose then stepped backward then patted her stomach. All she wanted right now was a happy, healthy and cheerful baby. Nothing more, nothing less. "I think we can hope for a lot of things. Right now I just want Bunny to be healthy and happy."

"Me too." Jon smiled, squeezing her hand.

"Uncle Jon!" She suddenly heard shouted, just in time to see her nieces running at her husband.

A second later, he was rolling around on the floor laughing, and the pile was getting bigger every second as more of the kids were getting on. "Hey girls."

"You look like you're going to explode." She heard a second later, and that was when she realised Simon had come along too. It seemed like a long time since she'd seen her brother, so this was worth it. She wasn't happy that he thought she might explode.

"This is what having a brother is like everyone. Yeah. Aren't you all jealous of how loving and caring he is." She shook her head then wrapped her arms around her brother in a hug. She was getting better at joking at her size, but the only person she'd let get away with the comments was always going to be her big brother. That was the joy of being siblings, surely. Today had been a good day, and it was her hope that someday soon they'd have more things to celebrate this way.


	8. Chapter 8

**Simon and Jon go shopping.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>November 17th 2161<strong>

Jon had to admit he and Erika had probably left things a little too late to get Toshiko's birthday present, especially given that Erika had to work every day until the party. He'd taken a day off, but having no idea at all what to get he had decided to pull the only parent of girls he knew around. Simon had followed out of morbid curiosity, most likely. "You're buying a present?" He asked, then Jon shook his head.

"Yeah." There was a good reason for him going. If it was for any other reason he would probably have bought whatever she felt like.

"For who?"

Jon rolled his eyes, because the fact Simon needed to ask that said a lot. Both his daughters had had their birthday, he and Erika had even managed to send them plenty of presents from San Francisco. Tosh lived in the same city, so of course she was going to get more attention than the girls. "My goddaughter, Toshiko."

"The little Japanese girl?" Simon asked, clearly trying to work out who he meant.

"She's half Japanese, yes." He just rolled his eyes again, something he did far too often when he was in Simon's company. "It's her third birthday in a couple of days, and between Erika being so busy and being pregnant plus me working all the time we haven't got her anything." Next year he wasn't going to make that mistake. Tosh would probably be happier than anything with just their presence at her party.

Simon nodded slowly then leant in closer to Jon and glared. "What I don't understand is why I had to come?" There were a few answers to that, but which one would get the most reaction was the one on was going to use. Largely because it was easiest to annoy him.

"Because you're my brother in law and we never spend time together."

Simon growled, causing Jon to grin a little wider, he had been right about what would annoy Simon the most out of all the reasons to bring him. "Maybe that's because other than my sister we have very little in common." That was sort of true. Erika was the main thing they had in common, but there were Simon's children, and they both liked a lot of similar things. They didn't talk about them though.

"OK I'll give you that, but you've been where I am before." Simon had been a new father, and he had been an expectant father. Jon remembered what it had been like before Carla was born, Simon had now been through it twice. Maybe there was something that he could say that would be good advice. Maybe. "I remember when Maria was pregnant with Carla, you were a wreck. How did you cope with it?"

"Alcohol." That was the straight answer, and both of them ended up laughing loudly, worrying some of the people passing them as they walked into the mall. When they'd both stopped Simon carried on speaking. "Only when Maria didn't know. Also by the third trimester I was excited."

"I'm already excited, Erika has been making me take her shopping for baby supplies." She enjoyed the shopping, he enjoyed how excited Erika got though and it made him feel the same. Erika was enjoying her pregnancy now more than she had been before, he was still afraid. "She's enjoying it very much. I'm a little more afraid."

"Why?" Simon asked, and that was something he hadn't thought about. He'd never had to verbalise it, Erika just understood and nobody else cared that much. It was hard to explain, mostly because Simon hadn't been in service in the war.

It was harder than he'd expected. "Because Erika and I have been through so much. Me in the Expanse, her with the Orions. Then we both got through the war together." All of their experiences had been awful, and dangerous. He hated what had gone on, and that it was still affecting him. "It's harder than I expected to be optimistic about the baby when that has happened to us."

"You two are going to be great parents." Simon said, and Jon almost couldn't believe that there had been a complement for him in there, as well as one for Erika.

"Both of us?" He had to hear it again, because learning that Simon thought they would be good at it made her happy about it.

There was another champion eyeroll, this time from Simon. "Her more than you. You're gonna fuck up, a lot. But it'll be worth it in the end." That didn't seem surprising. Jon was certain that he was going to fuck up. While he knew that, he was fairly sure that Erika would do fantastically. She would disagree, but he was certain. "I wouldn't change my girls for anything. I might change Carla's attitude problem."

"She has an attitude problem?" He hadn't noticed that, but he hadn't been around her loads the last several months.

"Oh yeah. She's taking after Erika that way." Jon just stared at Simon for a few minutes. He'd never imagined Erika as rebellious. He knew that she'd had a boyfriend from a fairly young age, but they'd stayed together a long time. Until Erika was about 23 he thought. So the idea she was rebellious. Simon clearly noticed his look and smirked then continued with his point. "Maria and I were much more religious and traditional than Erika and her friends when we were teenagers."

"You know that really shouldn't surprise me, but it does." He was going to admit it, because at least he could learn something about his wife she didn't know. "Probably given that she's such a rule-following, faithful, monogamous person, but I guess she had to rebel to get to that point in her life." That was something he was happy about in a way, because it meant she was where she was now.

Simon burst out laughing then shook his head as Jon led the way into a toy store. "I'll find you some pictures. She dyed her hair purple once, our father threatened to shave her head." That seemed like it would be hilarious, and something he should never let her forget once he learnt it.

"I hope you have pictures of that." He wondered what shade of purple. Erika had mentioned someone she once had a crush on that had green hair. He was chortling at that when he found some building bricks that Tosh would probably like. "What about this for Tosh?"

"It's a bit babyish isn't it?" Simon asked.

Jon just looked again at the box and frowned then shook his head. Because he didn't know exactly what was wrong with them for Tosh. "Is it?"

"It's two and under, didn't you say she was three?" Simon pointed to the corner of the box.

So he put them down, having been shown they were designed for children younger than Tosh was. "Yes, she is."

"Go for this then." Simon handed him a similar box that actually looked more suitable straight away. Being a spaceship that she could build too was what she'd like. "She can build it and destroy it and it doesn't have any sounds so her parents won't want to murder you." Wait, what?

"Is that a problem when parenting?" He had to ask. He thought that toys with sounds were good for children, so he didn't see why there would be a problem with toys that made noise. Wouldn't that just be helping.

Simon though burst out laughing and shook his head, clearly laughing at Jon's thoughts. "By the time that kid is a year old, you'll be fed up of anything that makes a noise. I regularly wanted to kill the toys." For some reason, Jon thought that would be more Simon's personality than the toys.

But still, it was best he at least be a little polite, and give Simon the benefit of the doubt. "That doesn't sound too good."

"You at least have Erika to stop you kicking the toy against the wall in the middle of the night." That was all Simon, and much less anyone else when annoyed.

"I'm getting her this. It'll drive Hoshi up the wall. Tosh'll build it to be just like her dad's."

Simon laughed again and nodded at the box. "Good choice. So, you actually ready to be a dad?"

"Not even close to it. But I don't have any choice any more. Bunny is on the way!" His son or daughter was going to be here in a few weeks.

Simon looked very confused for a few minutes. Then clearly managed to speak again. "Bunny?"

"The nickname Erika and I have taken to calling the baby. It seems better than just calling her 'baby' all the time. We should get back, Erika will be home soon." Not only was Erika going to be home soon, he also wasn't sure how much longer he and Simon could spend out talking without wanting to stab each other.


	9. Chapter 9

**Erika helps Hoshi set up for Tosh's birthday and asks her advice.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>November 19th 2161<strong>

Erika walked into the hall, which was half decked out now for the birthday party that would be happening in a few hours. She knew that Toshiko was with Jon at the park, while she had decided to come and help Hoshi with what was left to do before the party. After a few minutes of her walking into the room, Hoshi came back out of a backroom carrying an arm full of decorations. "Are you sure you should be here?" She asked, looking over at Erika with a fair amount of worry.

"I took the day off work, and I was being driven mad by Jon at the park. Tosh is being spoiled though." She was really fed up, only because when Jon was in the sort of mood that he'd been in today it was hard to take him seriously.

"Simon and his family gone home?" Hoshi asked, and Erika nodded. She had enjoyed having her brother and nieces nearby for a few days, but they'd needed to go home to check on her mother, and she'd needed them to go so Jon and Simon would stop with their passive-aggressive competition.

"Yesterday." The fact they had gone home was both a good and bad thing. "Jon and Simon went shopping together the other day, I'm not sure it was the best idea. They seem to be happier with each other now." She didn't know whether or not that was because of their shopping trip or if because of something else, maybe she'd never know.

Hoshi, it seemed, followed what she was saying and came to the same conclusion as Erika had, that they had bonded about something while they'd been out shopping. "That may have actually been helpful then."

"It's weird for them to be getting along, since they really don't like each other very much. Completely opposite personalities." They had been bickering for almost as long as Erika had known him. She was really glad that they had seemed to bond about something. Hopefully it would last.

"Honestly, I can't imagine many non-Starfleet people getting along with Jon Archer." Hoshi had a point there. Jon's career was a large part of his identity, and sometimes he struggled to identify with people from outside of Starfleet. Hoshi pinned up one of the banners, then climbed off the ladder Erika had stepped forward to hold. When she was back on the floor she looked at Erika with a thoughtful look. "He's an only child too, isn't he?"

"Jon? Yeah." His mother had mentioned how she'd considered having more children, but she'd just had Jon before Henry had started getting sick, so they ended up just having him.

"He's not going to understand being a sibling then, is he?" That was another good point. Erika had always just written off their rivalry as being people who didn't get on, so she accepted what Hoshi was pointing out. "Especially not going to empathise with Simon being protective of his little sister."

Protectiveness, that's definitely something that Erika had to admit Simon was good at. Over-protective sometimes. "Well, yes that much is true. I wish they could get on a little more, it would make my life simpler." Her life would be easier without the bickering and anger that went on between the two of them. That had happened less recently, though. Since she'd gotten pregnant. Probably something about having the girls and this baby. "At least they seem to be accepting that for the sake of their children they need to have signed a peace treaty."

Hoshi, however, just shrugged. She didn't know Simon, so she probably couldn't theorise any more than she already had. "Probably the best you can hope for. How are you doing right now, prepared for the baby?" That was harder to answer than it should have been.

"Mostly. We've got the crib, and the stroller, plenty of clothes." She trailed off and bobbed her head to show that she didn't think that was necessarily all that a baby would need, but it was what they'd gotten so far, there was certainly a lot more to it, but for now she was happy with what she'd got.

"Not all of it though, right?" Hoshi asked, clearly understanding exactly what Erika had meant.

"No we've not got everything, but I still have almost 13 weeks to go." And two days, but she wasn't adding that right now. It was close enough in her mind. All she could think was that she would have lots of time to get finished. "Plenty of time to get the last bits sorted."

Hoshi moved the ladder then smiled, nodding at her as she climbed up. "You think that, but you're almost in your third trimester and within a week or two your energy will go bye bye." She gave a wave out the window then started hanging the picture she had right now.

"I'm already suffering with that. Maybe partially because of my age?" She was a lot older than anyone else she knew who'd had children. Almost all her doctors had been surprised to know that she'd gotten pregnant naturally. She claimed that she was going to be a miracle, but it was because she looked a lot younger than she was. "I am almost 47, nobody even thought I could get pregnant naturally."

"That is possible, I mean it wouldn't surprise me." What? That she'd gotten pregnant or that her age was making it harder and her sleepier. "Pregnancy is hard most of the time, must get worse the older you get." Hoshi clarified, and Erika just nodded slowly.

"I can definitely agree with that. Not to mention that Bunny is doing somersaults about half the time at the moment. She's active." That was an understatement, she rarely felt the baby stop, she never seemed to sleep.

Hoshi burst out laughing and shook her head. "That's better than her being lazy like Tosh was. She barely moved unless she had to."

"Sounds like Trip's genes." Erika just couldn't help but comment that. He struck her as the type who would be as lazy as he could be if he didn't need to. Bringing Trip up right now was a gamble, given that they didn't know if he'd get sent home.

It seemed Hoshi didn't have the same problem. Then again, it _was_ her partner who was the lazy one. "Definitely."

"I just hope I'm doing the right things." She was always worried that she'd done the wrong thing, or that she was thinking the wrong way. "It's scary, reading list after list of what you should and shouldn't do. I probably still do half the things I shouldn't." That was all Erika could think about. She was making things worse.

"Considering that Bunny is active and moving, you're probably doing everything fine." Bunny was very active. It sometimes caused her a lot of pain, and she'd wake up with bruises. "Your body will protect the baby regardless, it's an evolutionary trick." Could that really be true? Her body would protect Bunny even if she wasn't doing exactly the right thing. Because that would have been better to know a few weeks earlier.

"That is the best thing to know. How come none of the books tell you that clearly?" She laughed then shook her head. The books were helpful in their own way.

"Because the books aren't perfect." Hoshi said, then shook her head looking at Erika seriously. "You know your body better than anyone, so just listen to it. Soon enough the baby will be here. How come you call the baby Bunny?" Hoshi asked, and that was when Erika realised that while their friends may have all started using the nickname for the baby, none of them knew where it came from.

"Jon gave her a nickname a few weeks ago, we had been saying 'baby' until then, but after that 'Bunny' became a favourite." She would always enjoy thinking about her little Bunny. Boy or girl, it was going to be her bunny. "Now I feel like the baby is going to have the nickname Bunny for life."

Hoshi laughed, and finally climbed down off the ladder with nothing else in her hands. "It's cute. I'm making a blanket, it's nice to know I could knit 'Bunny' and it fit no matter what you have."

"That's great of you." She felt really great, knowing that a friend was already making a blanket for the baby. That made it even more real. "Thanks. I'm just excited now."

"That doesn't go away, can you grab this banner?" Hoshi threw it at her, causing Erika to laugh quite loudly. There was something about arranging this party and talking about the few things left bothering her that made her feel more and more comfortable about the act that the baby was going to be here soon. It was scary, but she was excited too.


	10. Chapter 10

**Trip arrives home just in time for Tosh's birthday party.  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>November 19th 2161<strong>

Jon had gotten the call an hour earlier that Trip was actually on his way down to the planet. He was going to make it back for Toshiko's birthday after all. He had expected to be back, then there had been engine troubles. Despite knowing that, Jon was going to give him hell for it, purely because he could. Trip would no doubt return the favour one day, he was sure enough about that. "I thought you were going to be back yesterday." He shouted as soon as he saw his old friend coming toward him.

"So did I!" He said as soon as he was in comfortable talking distance rather than shouting again back. That way the two officers wouldn't completely make it difficult for those they were surrounded by. The other officers and the civilians also meeting their loved ones.

As soon as they started out of the shuttleport, Jon couldn't help but thinking of the next comment he could give to try and wind Trip up. "Hoshi is going to kill you."

"I made it back in time." Trip answered with a snap then burst out laughing. Jon forgot that his friend knew how to get him back.

"Barely, you're lucky Erika takes an age to get ready so I was home to get your message to pick you up." It was mostly because Erika like to try and look her best, not the easiest when she was as huge as she was.

"I'm even luckier that the engine problem wasn't as serious as we first thought, otherwise I wouldn't have made it home." It was very lucky that he'd made it, Jon wasn't sure what Hoshi would have done if Trip hadn't made it back at all.

At least he was going to be saved from finding that out, since Erika had gone ahead to tell Hoshi that Trip was on his way. "Well, Erika went ahead to the party." Telling Trip that was probably the best idea, so that he wouldn't be worried walking in. "She's told Hoshi you're on your way home."

"Hoshi is going to end up killing me." Trip echoed Jon's earlier point, which just made him laugh. Hoshi was likely to be a little annoyed about it still.

"You're home in time to see Tosh blow out her candles." That was what mattered, he was there in time for Toshiko to know he was at her birthday party. "We all knew this kind of interruption to our lives could happen when we signed up. Hoshi knew that too." That was the easiest way to point out that Tosh, and Hoshi, wouldn't be too hurt. He hoped.

Trip was quite clearly not at all comforted by Jon reminding him that there were plenty of things that Hoshi could do to make things harder for Trip. "You think that'll stop her?"

"That is a good point. Ready?" Jon stopped at the door then smiled at Trip, hoping that this was all for the best, given that Trip's little girl was now three he would probably be feeling even older.

"Ready." Trip confirmed as the door opened, they stepped through and everyone turned to look at them. Hoshi look relived, Erika looked exhausted and little Toshiko looked like she was going to explode she so excited.

"Daddy!" The toddler shouted, and Jon stepped back and away slightly. Giving Tosh Trip's undivided attention.

Erika, it seemed, had decided to come up to him, probably because today she was exhausted and would just want to be held up and not have to think about carrying the conversation. "He made it then?" She asked, then turned around so she could see what they were doing.

"Just, feeling better?" He had to ask whether or not she felt better. She'd gone too long without eating earlier and therefore absolutely starving when she'd got home. He had made sure to make her eat something before they left.

"A little bit, I shouldn't have stayed decorating here with Hoshi so long." She muttered, then she threaded her fingers through his hands resting her bump. "I am starving though, and sleepy."

He chuckled a little and leant forward, resting his head on her shoulder and smiling to himself, a simple question all he could think of. "Both of them?"

"Yep. We should book this place for the after-christening party when Bunny arrives." Erika commented, looking around the hall as she did. It wasn't surprising that she was beginning to make plans for everything that would start after the birth.

"That would be nice, we wouldn't need to decorate as much for that." Given how neither of them wanted to put too much effort into parties, they never had, that was for the best. They weren't exactly the happiest about having to organise things, they'd even handed off planning their wedding to Hoshi.

The hall looked fantastic though, and it was clear that it completely fit Toshiko's personality. Which was one of the greatest things. It was maybe a little much though, but it was very Sato. Clearly, Erika was thinking along the same lines. "Hoshi did go overboard. In a few years we're going to be doing this ourselves. Three years and a few weeks we'll be where Hoshi and Trip are now."

Jon looked up and followed Erika's sight-line to where Hoshi and Trip were just fussing over Toshiko who was squealing, everyone in the hall was giving the family time alone. Watching them though, Jon was absolutely terrified. "Doesn't that terrify you?"

"Those three? Yeah. Permanently." At least he wasn't the only one who was terrified, that made him feel an awful lot better. "Do you think we'll have any chance at having a normal family, given that we are two of the most famous Starfleet captains there are?" That was an odd question, and one that he didn't actually know the answer too. All he knew was that they were going to have their family.

"It's a little bit late to be worrying about that though Rike. You're already expecting the baby." That was surely one of the big worries they should have got over _before_ Erika was expecting. Now they were too late to change their minds.

"I know I am." Erika commented then shook her head, patting his hand against her belly and laughing softly. "That's exactly why I'm worrying now."

"We're gonna be parents." He commented quietly. Sometimes that was the most normal thing in the world, but then every so often he'd think about what was going on and he'd realise they were going to raise a baby. A little human that he and Erika had created together.

It was terrifying, but Erika's small excited squeak made him happy. "Yes we are. I'm excited though. You should feel her right now." He knew exactly what she meant, he could feel through the skin.

"Oh believe me, I can. Is she always this active?" It seemed amazing that a baby could be so maneuverable and strong.

"Most of the time. She enjoys keeping her mom on her toes." She laughed again, then leant her head back against his shoulder. He kissed her cheek and smiled too as she continued speaking. "No doubt her daddy too before long. So you should focus on the fact that you're going to be a daddy soon."

He frowned, thinking about his friends and those he didn't have any more too. It was the worst feeling, knowing that they wouldn't be seeing their baby. "The last of the NX team to say that."

"Maybe. But at least we're doing it together." Erika smiled and kissed his cheek as Toshiko climbed onto Trip's knee ready to start opening presents. He was proud to know that soon he would be having these experiences for himself. He placed his hands on her bump, feeling their baby doing the somersaults that Erika regularly complained about. It was just amazing, and he knew it was time to accept he was ready.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hoshi drags Erika out to lunch and they meet an old friend.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>November 23rd 2161<strong>

Erika had been dragged out of her office a half hour earlier, which was probably a good thing given that she had been getting more and more frustrated at the development of the protocol for her team. It had been a good idea by the admiralty really. One small team who would deal with any complaints or issues that the ship Captains had, and could report them in a weekly briefing unless it was something urgent. In practice, it was a lot harder than it should have been and she was tearing her hair out. Thankfully her team was finally gelling. Hoshi had known how much stress she was under and had come to make sure she ate. "So, Toshie liked her birthday presents?" Erika asked as they walked out of Starfleet, wondering how the three-year-old was enjoying everything.

"You should have seen her." Hoshi laughed, opening the gate and stepping onto the pavement, the crowd passing them parting a little around them. "Those Lego pieces you and Jon got her are one of her favourites, but she just builds a tower and smacks Trip with it." That was a more amusing mental image than it really should have been.

"Definitely worth buying them then." Erika then burst out laughing, finding it too hard to keep acting like she didn't want to laugh. A second later Hoshi started laughing too.

"I'm glad you think so, I don't think Trip agrees." It was clear that Hoshi found it hilarious as well, but Erika was absolutely certain that Trip disagreed. She was still chuckling slightly when Hoshi looked at someone getting up from a table in the restaurant where they were planning to eat with a smile. "Wait, is that who I think it is? Beth!"

The woman Hoshi had pointed at turned round then started smiling and jogged over to them slowly. "Hi, long time no speak!"

"Since the Expanse." Hoshi nodded and returned the other woman. Erika just stood to one side a little awkwardly. This was obviously someone else who had been with _Enterprise_ in the Expanse, and while Erika had heard a lot about it, she hadn't been there. "Phlox told me you were in med-school though." Hoshi was clearly proud of her friend for that.

"Graduated, I'm a Paeds fellow now."

"At the medical centre?"

"Yeah." She nodded, then stepped forward and reached a hand out to Erika with another smile. It was nice to have been noticed, finally. "Sorry, Elizabeth Cutler, I used to serve with Hoshi."

That was when Hoshi seemed to remember that Erika was stood there too and motioned between them as they shook. "Oh, yeah. Beth this is Captain Hernandez. Admiral Archer's wife?"

"Wait, he's married?" Cutler asked with a laugh. Seemed like she didn't believe that Jon would be married, probably not that surprising to those who had known him through the Expanse. He'd been a very different man back then.

"For just under a year." Erika confirmed, then tried to head off the inevitable comment about her pregnancy. The baby had just managed to fall asleep and she really didn't want to wake her up. Somehow that baby always knew when she was being spoken about. "Don't mention the bump she's finally asleep so I'm trying to ignore it."

Hoshi smiled at Erika and laughed, clearly understanding what Erika meant, then went on to explain. "Beth left _Enterprise_ just after we got back from the Expanse so she could go to medical school. Paeds though?" Hoshi was clearly surprised at her former colleagues choice of specialty.

"They are tiny humans." That was the moment that Erika decided she liked Cutler, who had a very amusing turn of phrase.

Hoshi, for her part, just rolled her eyes. "I know, I have one. She's just turned three a few days ago, and Erika's expecting." Erika just glared slightly and looked down. It was not _at all_ obvious that she was expecting. "She claims she wants a boy but she doesn't actually care."

Erika smiled and spoke under her breath, just too quietly for anyone but Hoshi to hear. "I care a lot, in my family, girls are trouble." She'd been trouble, her mother had been trouble, her nieces were trouble. Girls were not really what she wanted, but if she had a girl she'd be happy, and with Jon's certainty it was a girl she was beginning to know that.

"Wow! I feel like I've missed a lot since I left." Cutler exclaimed with a small laugh. Then waved her hand around. "You've got a kid, the Captain is married and having a baby. What else?"

"A lot. It has been 7 and a half years." Hoshi just sounded happy, while Erika would have probably been annoyed at not hearing from someone for that long.

Cutler nodded, but returned Hoshi's bright smile. "Was hard to get time off to catch up with everyone. I still see Ethan from time to time, and I call Phlox once a week." She looked down at her chrono and cursed quietly, which probably again only she and Hoshi could hear. "Anyway, I should get going or I'll be late, I'll call you soon. Good luck with baby Captain."

Erika looked back after Cutler who walked out, Hoshi was clearly happy to have seen one of her old friends. The woman had seemed a little confused and ditzy, but Erika could also see how that had been advantageous on Jon's ship. "She seems nice?"

"She is, she's always been a little ditzy, one of the best scientists we never had on _Enterprise_ though." That was again not surprising. Erika then led her way to a seat and picked up one of the menus on the table. She was really glad to have seen another one of Jon's crew.

"Well, if she's on Paeds at the medical centre chances are we'll see her again at some point." Hoshi looked at her confused as she took her seat opposite Erika, clearly she wasn't quite following Erika's thought. "We both have kids, we both live in the area and we're both in Starfleet." She explained, not feeling the need to say both Jon and Trip were in Starfleet too.

"You should tell Jon you bumped into her." Hoshi suggested, and Erika smiled off, looking past the people nearby to see the officers walking in and out of Starfleet. "He'd no doubt be happy about that." That was probably true too. Jon liked knowing about his former crew, and not knowing about any of them tended to weigh on him.

So if she could give him some information on a former crewman it'd be worth it. "Without a doubt. I'll tell him tonight." It was at that moment she felt another rumble, and she hoped it wouldn't wake the baby up. "Can we eat, because I'm really hungry and I still need to go back to work this afternoon." She would get this team sorted, they'd been building for three months and she was hoping that she could actually be sure that the team was ready soon.

"I still can't believe you're not on maternity yet?" Hoshi really did sound surprised, but Erika couldn't afford to take the time off yet. Maybe when the team was ready to take over for her it would be easier to do anything, but for the moment her team weren't ready to be left on their own.

"No, not yet, January 1st technically." That was the very latest, when her team were ready to go she would go on leave. Probably earlier than that, but she was still going to treat it as being the day she would go on leave. "Jon wants me to take a bit longer. I have as long as I need on my leave so I could take it earlier if it's necessary." That was the easiest way to start talking about it.

Hoshi looked seriously, because 'necessary' was probably not what she had in mind. "You've got your team all set up now, right?" She asked, and that was another good question.

"For the most part." She was not at all going to admit that her team weren't ready, and that they weren't ready for everything that she was going to need while she was on leave.

"Then delegate to them and take some leave." No, that wasn't what she was able to do just yet. Soon though, hopefully. She would be able to soon, and then she would have to be on leave anyway. Hoshi looked a little concerned then put her hand over Erika's. "I'm sure Jon would be happier if you did that."

Well, that was true. Jon was asking her even now to cut her hours down to half days, which was quite a tempting offer. She wanted to be at home when Jon was home, and she didn't really want to be at home on her own. He wanted her to be safe and rested though, which was getting harder. "You're not wrong."

"Can I help you?" At that moment a server interrupted them with a smile, and Erika looked again at the menu, having already decided but wanting to be sure.

"I'll have the salmon pasta and a lemonade." Hoshi was the first one to answer, and the server wrote it down as fast as she could before she turned to Erika with that same PR smile.

Erika grinned, then ordered the things that she really felt like eating. "The nut roast, the squash, some onion rings and some fries and the largest glass of soda water you can give."

"Hungry?" Hoshi asked as the server turned away, and again it made Erika smile. She actually was really hungry. That seemed to happen whenever the baby was sound asleep.

"Bunny is quiet, I might actually be able to eat." The fact that she was hungry was a good sign. That was when she smirked at Hoshi and thought of something else she could do to wind her friend up. "You're eating anything I can't eat by the way."

"That's my diet out the window then." Hoshi laughed and shook her head.

There was a moment when it became obvious that being friends with someone as far along as Erika was was going to be hard, especially on a diet. "Not easy being friends with a pregnant person is it?"

"I only hope I wasn't this annoying with Tosh." Hoshi smirked, then went back to talking about which of Tosh's toys from her birthday were her favourite. It was nice to have met another one of Jon's crew, but it was even better to be having the day with a friend, and to eat. She was really hungry, and the baby was quiet for the first time in forever.


	12. Chapter 12

**Sally Archer stops in for a visit.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p>Jonathan Archer had not at all expected for his mother to call him out of the blue and tell him that she was going to come to visit and help them prepare for the baby. He was absolutely certain that Erika wasn't going to be all that happy with Sally Archer's appearance. She was struggling enough with this part of pregnancy, having someone else staying in their apartment was just going to make it harder. Of course none of that had gone into his mothers' head. She'd been 25 when he'd been born, Erika was 46. So now that his mother was here, Jon wasn't going to let Erika find out by seeing her. "Jonathan, you should just go. I know my way to your apartment." Sally said, and Jon just rolled his eyes. He was sure she did, but Erika might be home, and the two of them fighting was not what either of them needed.<p>

"I'm sure you do mom, but I want to check whether Erika is home or not first." He was honest about that, because it wasn't going to work very well, and Erika would tell what she thought before Sally had a chance to think if she got the chance so it was probably best he tell his mother how it was. "She won't be happy to see you."

"I'm sure she will." Sally could live in denial better than anyone he knew. He was fairly sure that he knew Erika better than his mother did.

"She won't, mom." He was going to keep trying to push it through to her. Because she needed to know that this could happen and maybe that way Sally wouldn't be as offended. "She's pregnant, she's grumpy and she has a lot of stress still at work. Having someone else in our apartment isn't going to help her with that."

It still didn't seem to be sinking in, and Jon was just walking her slowly through the city, just to postpone the fact that he might actually have to speak to Erika soon. "Are you sure it isn't?" She asked again after a few minutes.

"Yes." He knew it for a fact, given how she'd begged Simon to stay in a hotel so that she could take a break and be calm. "She didn't even want her family to stay."

"Well, there are a lot more of her family. I'm just one person." Sally tried, again, and while she had a point that Simon's family was four people, they were four people Erika loved. She and Sally barely tolerated each other, and that was only about half the time.

He was definitely going to make sure that he mentioned that to Erika, mostly because that would give her a laugh before she went to prison for murdering his mother. She would probably get off on the fact that she was pregnant. "I'll let you know how that goes over."

"So if Erika isn't home?" She asked, and this time Jon heard a little bit more worry in her voice. Probably because he'd managed to point out that Erika was not likely to be happy.

"I'll go see her at work and tell her you've come to stay, she may choose to go stay with a friend though." If she felt having Sally around was too much, he'd be happy for her to go and stay with Hoshi or Faisa or anyone else who she considered a friend and knew well enough that they wouldn't drive her crazy. He opened the outer door to their building and frowned. "So she has space."

"You two still have friends?" Sally laughed, and he had to stop himself from replying angrily. She probably meant it as a joke, but it still wasn't a good joke. They stood in the lift for a few seconds then stepped out onto their corridor.

"That was mean. Of course we do, mom. Starfleet is a way of life, most of our friends served with us, but now we're all living on Earth. Stay here." He held a hand out and pointing to the bench at the end of the hall. He hoped that she would do as he asked. Then he opened the door, glad to see that Erika was not home. He walked out and motioned to his mother. "Alright she isn't home. We changed the main guest room into Bunny's room, so you're at the end of the hallway. I will see you in a while, let me go talk to Erika."

"Fine." Sally sounded grumpy, but at least she took her bags into the apartment and shut the door. That was something he hadn't been exactly sure about.

That was when he decided to walk to Starfleet, which thankfully only took a few minutes. He was glad himself of a few minutes of peace and quiet, away from is mother and away from Erika. He loved them both, separately. Together they were annoying and hard to deal with. But he'd try at least, and hope that he wasn't going to end up wanting to kill one or the other of them. When he walked into Starfleet he went straight to Erika's office then smiled at her aide. "Admiral, want me to tell her you're here?"

"No, I'll just go in." He motioned and opened the door then looked back toward the aide. "Can you make sure we're not disturbed for a while?"

"Sure, that'll be easy." She grinned, and Jon couldn't help but smile at how perfect this aide was for Erika. He was sure that she kept the office running and made Erika laugh. It made him feel a little better too.

"Jonathan, is that you?" He heard shouted and stepped through, closing the door behind him and looking around at what was in the office. It was harder than he expected to see around the stacks of PADDs. Suddenly he was glad that he kept their apartment clean enough for the both of them.

What made him laugh the most was that the two women he was going to try and stop from killing each other were the only two women on the planet who called him Jonathan. It amused him, more than it probably should have done. "The only people in my life that call me Jonathan regularly are you and my mother."

"Well, why not?" Erika said, and thanks to that he realised that she was on the sofa. He grinned as he came round to where he could see her, then just looked at her where she was slowly rubbing her stomach and reading a report. When she saw him she sat forward and patted the sofa behind her. "Come sit with me, I can't get comfortable with my feet down."

"Speaking of my mother, she's here." That was not the best way he could have brought this situation up with her, but it seemed to be the only way he could think of segueing the conversation to Sally being in their apartment.

"What? She's in New York." Erika clearly thinking that he was playing some sick kind of joke on her. He felt a little bad that this wasn't a joke, especially given that she was clearly tired. She only wanted attention like this at work when she was tired and overworking herself.

So he tried again, because it wasn't going to be easy if she didn't realise he wasn't joking. He needed to stop himself laughing before he tried again though, otherwise it might not be clear. "My mother, she decided she wanted to come for a visit. I didn't know she was coming."

"The last thing I need right now is your mother being here." That was the response he'd been expecting, but that proved that it was going to be easy to convince her that his mother wasn't the worst thing that could have happened. Sally wasn't going to leave until she had too though, and they both knew that too.

He wanted Erika to know he had tried to convince his mother than her coming to fuss over them right now was not actually going to be helpful, and would actually just made it worse. "I know, I tried to tell her that."

Erika looked annoyed still, and he couldn't exactly blame her. Surprise visits weren't the easiest. "She'll drive me daft and I'll probably end up wanting to kill her. It's not really a good situation."

"I agree with that, but she's here." He just wanted her to be comfortable, and that might not necessarily be at home. If she could stay with one of their friends it might be better. He could suggest it at the very least. "You could always go stay with Hoshi, or Faisa."

"No, I'll have to deal with her eventually." Clearly she was getting to the point where Erika realised that her child was going to have to live with Sally being their grandmother. So at least that was going to be helpful. "Might as well do that tonight when we get home. You're cooking though, and I want pasta."

She had begun to love pasta, all types of pasta. It seemed to be the baby's current favourite food. So he'd learnt as many different ways to make pasta as he could. "I can agree to that. You managed to sort your team out?" He turned the attention back to her career, because that was something she would be happier talking about.

She bobbled her head around his chest a couple of times then smiled. "Nobody has asked me any stupid questions today, which I feel is a good sign."

"Almost certainly." He replied with a smirk. He couldn't help it, because Erika putting her team together had been quite funny to sit with her through.

"Could you sound any more sarcastic, Jonathan." She scolded, which actually just caused him to laugh a little more.

He hadn't really meant to sound sarcastic, it just seemed normal. "I didn't mean to sound sarcastic. I think it's great they made it through the day without any questions. Your team will be great in time, you've got to trust them."

"Just like how we had to let our crew go when we launched, right?"

"Exactly. Let's stay here a while and avoid my mother." He wrapped his arms around Erika's shoulders and kissed her forehead. She was tired, and he knew getting this down was something that she felt she needed to do. All he wanted right now was for her to be calm, but with his mother around that wasn't likely to be happening. He would keep hoping though.


	13. Chapter 13

**Another checkup and Jon and Erika make a deal.  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>November 26th 2161<strong>

They had been sat in the waiting room of this clinic for a little over half an hour. They'd both taken the whole day off, but Erika still didn't enjoy waiting around, she enjoyed waiting even less when people were running up to Jonathan and asking for his signature every so often. She just wanted to get this all over with and then go to eat. A second later a nurse in scrubs came out with a packet and started looking around. "Erika Archer-Hernandez?" She asked, and Erika lumbered to her feet then tapped Jon lightly on the shoulder.

"Come on, I'll pinch you." It was her standard threat to get him moving anywhere, and normally it seemed to work. Probably because he let it work more than her actually ever pinching him would.

"I'm sure you will." He smirked while shaking his head. She just stood and looked at him until he also stood up and this time he slipped his hand into hers.

The nurse led them through to another room where their usual scan tech was sat, her equipment all ready to begin. For some reason Erika was nervous again, just as she always seemed to be when she was here right now. "Captain Hernandez, how are you?"

"Fed up, this baby won't calm down so I can do my job." That was the first thing that came to mind, and probably it wasn't what the tech had wanted to hear. Sure enough she began writing in her notebook that Erika was still working full time and not doing anything that she probably should have done.

"You're supposed to be taking it easy." There was a hint of scolding in that, and she was reminded about Jon's comments most nights. It was quite funny for her, because he was worried and she just wanted to get everything sorted.

As she expected, Jon tapped her nose gently and smiled then looked at the nurse with a wide grin. "I keep reminding her of that, it doesn't seem to make a difference."

"I'm busy." She defended. There was no chance that she was quite ready for anyone to take over from her. Soon enough they wouldn't have a choice, but she wanted them to be as prepared as they could be. "My officers still aren't completely on top of everything. They could be soon."

The nurse burst out laughing. "You two are funny." She commented and shook her head, then picked up the PADD she'd brought with all her notes on it then smiled at them again. "So, you're due a maintenance scan today, right? Get yourself up here." She motioned to the bed and Erika got herself situated, she hated being sat here.

"I wonder if she's small and my bump is just huge because it can be." That was the problem with her bump. She was worried it was too big, and she was doing something wrong. She'd never really been around pregnant people, so she had no real frame of reference.

"I'm sure Bunny is fine." Jon muttered as he sat down next to her. She was glad that he'd come with her, because it was a lot easier with him there than without him. She would panic herself, and he would have to deal with her.

"Do you want to know what the sex is?" The nurse asked, and it was clear that she was now just going through the motions. That actually made Erika feel more comfortable. She was so often treated specially because of her reputation, and because of Jon's. Being treated like a normal person was a luxury.

Jon was the first one to answer. "Yes."

"No. Do not tell him." She shouted, then shook her head with a laugh as the nurse jumped. It was quite obvious that she hadn't been prepared for that kind of reaction.

There was another round of laughter, and Jon just looked very grumpy about it all. He knew now he wasn't going to get to find out. "She's boss, sorry Admiral."

Silence descended as the nurse got to work and Erika laid back, looking at Jon while the scan started. She was at least glad she could keep her sweater on, because the room was freezing cold and she was trying not to shiver. "This room is always freezing."

"We'll get it over with as soon as we can. Here you go." I picture filled the screen, and Erika turned to look at it, Jon leant next to her and kissed her cheek, then they both looked at the little moving person they'd managed to create.

"Look at her. She looks perfect." Jon whispered in her ear almost breathlessly, not that Erika could blame him, it was amazing to see their miracle moving around. They both knew they didn't know the sex of the baby, but neither of them could help imagining she was a girl.

"She's a little shit, but she's perfect too." That was all that she could think. The baby made Erika tired, and she moved and danced around as much as she could. It was nice to see she looked as active as she felt.

"How is she?" Jon asked, looking a little worried. Erika was worried too, given that the nurse had said nothing to them yet.

The nurse, however, turned back to them with a large smile on her face and Erika smiled widely. "She's perfectly fine. You should be proud, Captain." That was a good thing to hear, given how concerned she was about doing everything wrong. It was a weird feeling, but she wanted things to be good for the baby. "She's a little bigger than expected, not common for older mothers. You must be doing everything right." That was the best news, and everything she could have hoped for.

"I'm always asking myself if I am doing everything right." She was going the right things. That was good news. She was so happy about that, especially given that she still felt like everything she was doing wrong. "I feel like I'm doing everything wrong."

"She's not doing anything wrong, she's doing amazing." Jon commented, then kissed her cheek again. He was always extra affectionate when they were learning things, and when he had the chance to tell her she was doing the right thing.

"Are you keeping up with your exercises?" She was asked, and she had to think which exercises particularly. She didn't do any specific exercises right now, she was too busy at work. Running around Starfleet was all the exercise she had time for.

"As often as I can. I'm walking a lot though, mostly around Starfleet." That was all she could say, and think about. Work took up what time she could be exercising. "I am still working."

A tutting noise came at her and shook her head. That was another person who was annoyed that she was still working, rather than just resting. "I don't think you should be working at this point Captain. You're not the youngest, and there is every chance the baby is going to be big. You're at 26 weeks and she's big. You need to be resting."

She shook her head, because she was definitely going to rest soon, she barely stood up half the time if she didn't have to. When her team was set up she'd take leave. "I'll rest when my team is set up."

"I will contact your superiors, Erika. Restrict you to half days soon." She didn't put it past anyone here to do that. They were there to care about her health and the health of her baby. If that included messing around with Starfleet then she was sure they'd do it.

"Can you wait to do that until Jonathan's mother has gone home?" There was no chance that Erika was going to stay at home while Sally Archer was staying in the house. It was way too hard for her to deal with her mother-in-law on a restricted basis. "I don't think I can deal with her alone just yet."

"How about we make a deal?" Jon started, and Erika had to listen to him, because if it was a deal that helped her she was ready for it. "I convince my mother to go home on Sunday, you start on half days on Monday."

"I'll accept that deal on one condition?" She said with a smirk having thought exactly what she needed and wanted to do if she was going to be off work she needed to be doing something.

Jon smiled, but looked a little concerned that she was going to ask for something serious. She didn't want anything serious, she just wanted to still be doing something. "What?"

"I can still spend the other half the day with Tosh or Faisa and the kids." At least the kids would help her a lot. That was what she needed.

The nurse was the one to answer that question. "That might be good practice. Just be sensible." There was a tone of superiority from the nurse. That was the best thing about it.

"Yes, ma'am." Erika said, her years of service drilling into her to just agreeing when something sounded like an order.

The nurse grinned, then handed her the PADD back. "I'll see you in six weeks."

"That's next year you know." Jon said, and she had to stop herself from smacking him round the back of the head. Now she just wanted to go and eat.

"Jonathan, out." She poled him forward, trying to resist smacking his butt in retaliation. Knowing that would probably just start him thinking about everything else he could turn into a 'that's next year' joke. What was important to have come out of the appointment was that the baby was as healthy as she could be and would hopefully continue to be that way. Jon's humour was just a bad side effect, and something she desperately hoped the baby would avoid.


	14. Chapter 14

**Jon points out to Sally why Erika has such a hard time, and why where he and Erika are isn't the same as where she and his father were when she was pregnant.  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>November 27th 2161<strong>

Jon had already brought the big box of photographs into the kitchen, while now he was waiting on Erika bringing the smaller box. It was all for the project Erika was starting, and he was quite happy to know that she was starting that up. The problem was that his mother was sat at the table making as many comments as she possibly could it seemed. "You shouldn't be doing that." Sally commented as Erika walked into the room carrying the smaller box. He winced, but given that neither of them could see him he wasn't going to get in any trouble, he hoped.

Erika sighed loudly, and he knew what that meant. She was on the verge of giving up being patient. That was how these kinds of situations always went. Sally would comment on one thing after another until Erika snapped at her. "Sally, it's fine, honestly. I'm pregnant not an invalid." Jon was impressed with his wife, she sounded calm and collected.

"Nobody claimed you're an invalid, Erika, but you should be careful." Oh no, he knew that Sally wouldn't leave it there. She would definitely have something else to say, and it would probably be another one pushing Erika's buttons, again. Apparently the fact that Erika was pregnant with Sally's grandchild didn't matter at all. "You don't want to put that baby in danger."

"Look, I'm not doing anything to put Bunny in danger, but carrying a box of photographs is not putting anyone in danger." Now she was sounding snappier, but whether or not Sally caught on was a different matter. Sometimes it was harder for people who didn't know Erika well to notice when she was angry and getting snappy.

"What are these photographs?" Maybe Sally had noticed, and it was probably time he butt in and stop Erika from beating Sally with one of the albums.

He passed a mug of coffee to his mother, then a glass of juice to Erika. He was sticking with the juice as well so that Erika didn't feel left out for the moment too, it seemed the fairest it could be. "They're from the project Erika and I worked on when we first met."

"That was a long time ago." Sally commented, and Erika smiled this time. Jon looked at her straight away with a grin. It was a long time, but both of them were quite clearly happy.

"21 years ago." He grinned, then took the opportunity to give Erika a quick kiss. It was nice for him to see her happy for the moment. In the last few days she'd barely smiled. That was when he was sure that he would have to explain the plans. "But Erika wants to do something for the baby, and I haven't looked at these in a long time."

"What kind of thing?" Sally asked, and Erika was clearly happier for the moment.

She was grinning and all he could think was that she looked really excited about what she was planning to do with the pictures. She'd always enjoyed taking pictures, and he'd enjoyed looking through them with her, so he understood why this was important. "I'm making a photo album of our old friends to show Bunny. They were a big part of our lives."

"What happened to them?" Sally actually managed to sound both sincere and tactful with her question, something Jon was quite proud of her for.

"Two died during the war, one in a terror attack on Vulcan, one in a climbing accident." Erika frowned a little, and Jon didn't blame her. He was the luckier of the two of them, while they'd both been hit by AG's death, Erika had then lost Veronica too. She sounded sad about it too.

"They were important to us though, and I feel like telling Bunny about them and making sure they are a part of his or her life is important." Jon took over, and squeezed Erika's shoulder as she put down her glass. Starting this while there was someone to ask questions maybe hadn't been the brightest idea. He caught sight of Erika as she stood up and realised how down she momentarily was, hopefully she'd rebound soon.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Erika turned away and headed toward the bathroom at the far end of the hallway, Jon was willing to bet they wouldn't see her for a while.

As soon as the door at the far end shut, Sally turned to him with that same judgmental face that she often pulled when she was going to say that someone was not going to like to hear. "I can't believe you didn't find out the sex."

"Well, We'll find out soon enough." Sally looked like she was going to say something more, so he shook his head and carried on speaking to try and head her off. There was only so much bashing of his wife he could take in one sitting. "Erika is traditional, she wants to wait."

"You two have waited long enough." Sally said, and the problem here was that he actually agreed with her. He wanted to know about his baby, but he also respected Erika's choice. That was the part that was annoying him the most. He just wanted his mother to butt out.

"Mom could you possibly go a day or so without sticking your nose in to what she and I are doing." He snapped, he had kept his mouth closed on this for far too long, it seemed. Normally he didn't let it get to him, but Erika was doing everything she could to make sure that she and the baby were healthy, so he couldn't take it anymore. "We're both adults in our 40s, we don't need you telling us exactly what we're doing wrong."

"I'm just trying to help, Jonathan!" Sally shot back, but this time he wasn't going to let her get away with it all.

He just opened his arms wide and shook his head, trying his best to point out that she wasn't helping at all. She was actually doing the opposite of helping. "You're not helping though, mom." He started, then looked down the hallway. "Erika is struggling enough as it is, without you criticising her. Accusing her of putting the baby in danger? That was over the top."

Sally just looked insulted, but then slowly her face changed, and maybe she realised exactly what she'd done, and how that hadn't been helpful at all. "I was worried about her carrying something heavy." She tried to defend, and it was obvious that she might believe that.

"She knows her limits mom, leave her alone." He was going to make sure she knew that he had no choice in this now. This wasn't going to be an easy part, but he needed to convince his mom to go home. Erika needed her to leave, and given their deal this was the fastest way for him to guarantee it. "I booked your transport home for Sunday."

"Why am I going home?" She asked, sounding a little angry. He was just going to make sure that she knew it wasn't because they didn't love her. They just needed space.

"Because Erika and I need time alone before the baby comes." That was actually basically the truth. They both needed to be alone, and they needed to prepare together. Without an audience. "You can come for Christmas, and help with the preparation then. Erika's family will be coming too. Until then stay home and we'll call you once a week."

"You sure you want me to leave?" Sally asked, and Jon didn't really blame her, but he had to put his foot down.

"I am, because while I love you, and you're my mom, I have to keep the focus on Erika and the baby." That was the most important thing. His mom was his mom, but Erika was his wife, and this baby was something they'd done together. It mattered more than he could say. "She's going to be my priority for a while, and then the baby will be. Surely nana didn't stay with you when you were pregnant with me." He already knew she hadn't, none of his grandparents had and his parents had been much younger.

That seemed to be the point that made Sally released there was so much that they needed to do alone. "You have a point, I'm sorry for being presumptuous. Sometimes I wish your nana had been here, but I was much younger than you are now and not as prepared to have you."

"We're glad you're here sometimes mom, but we need to do it on our own too." He smiled, glad that at least she hadn't flown completely off the handle. He hoped that she'd stay as calm as she was right now, because that would be best for him.

"I'm sure that my friends will be happy with hearing all about how things are going here." Of course she wanted to tell her friends all about her first grandchild. "I'm looking forward to meeting the baby."

Jon had to grin at that, he couldn't wait to meet the baby, and he knew that Erika was the same way out right now. "So are both of us. They'll be here before long. That's when we'll have more to know about them."

"Erika will be happy to know that I'm going home, huh?" Sally asked with a watery laugh.

"Oh, she most certainly will be." He laughed and hugged his mother. This had gone a lot easier than he'd expected, though he wasn't at all happy that it had included Sally accusing Erika of being careless. The two of them had been kinder and softer to each other than he'd ever seen them, but he knew that Erika was beginning to get fed up, and he had made the deal that he'd convince his mom to go home so Erika would start working half days. He'd held up his end of the bargain, hopefully his wife would hold up hers.


	15. Chapter 15

**Erika actually does the deal she wanted.  
>Amelia has convinced me to update 2 chapters. When I remember to update, that is.<br>Shin xx**

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><p><strong>December 1st 2161<strong>

Erika had had so much work she'd needed to do over the last few days it was almost exhausting to just be sat in her office. She'd tried to do some at home, but between Jon wanting her not to work and Sally wanting to accuse her of being too interested in things that weren't preparing for the baby she'd done nothing. Now she was trying desperately to catch up, but after her meeting this morning she needed to go home. So as she was finally leaving her office she smiled at her aide, Madeline. "You done for the day?"

"Yep, my meeting with Admiral Gardner this morning was about beginning cutting back my hours." Madeline would be affected by this a lot, so she was just going to be upfront and honest about everything that was going on. Madeline would be working all day with the rest of the "I'm in 8-1 now until I start my maternity leave."

"Admiral Archer finally talked you into taking half days, huh?" Madeline knew far too much about what went on in her life, but that was probably because she heard more than almost anyone else.

But she had to accept that Jon had been the one to talk her into it. Thinking about how it had all come to pass was exactly what she needed, and so was leaving at just past midday. "We made a deal at my check-up last week. He convinced his mother to go home yesterday, I switch to half days until I go on leave."

"Well, I think we all agree that that might be for the best." Madeline nodded, because it had taken a very long time for her to agree to this, and her officers had all no doubt been taking bets on when she'd take the half days.

"I'm glad that everyone agrees with him. I'll see you in the morning." She smiled, very glad to be leaving, she hadn't been sleeping well recently, so going for either a nap or a walk were both good ideas.

"We'll see you soon, Captain." Madeline shouted after her, and all she could do was wave back at her.

Erika just slowly walked home, waving at those people who looked her way on her walk home. For the first time since she'd moved into this building with Jonathan she was having to use the elevator. She hated it, but she was simply carrying too much weight right now not to. She opened the door as she heard a voice from the back, thankfully, it was one she recognised. "Tosh, come away from the walls, we got paper for you." The southern inflection combined with the squeal of the toddler told Erika that Trip and Tosh were in Bunny's room doing god knew what.

"You know she's covered in paint." She heard the dulcet tones of her husband, who was clearly laughing at their friend and the randomness of their goddaughter. She was glad to know they were both home with the toddler, who was no doubt making everything a lot slower than they would have expected.

"So are you, Jon." She heard Trip laugh, and suddenly she was worried about opening the door and seeing what the three of them were doing. It was no doubt going to be a ridiculous and silly thing, but she'd probably be happy. She was about to open the door when she heard Trip continue speaking. "Erika's going to kill you."

"We took everything out of the room, and I'm in very old clothes, and the floor is covered." Jon sounded a little defensive, probably because she possibly would have killed him if they'd ruined any of the things she had gotten into that room.

"What time is she due home?" Trip asked, and Erika just smiled and leant against the wall, it was an interesting situation, being able to listen straight away to what people were saying about her. Even if the people in question were Jon and Trip.

She almost sensed Jon's eyeroll even before he started to say anything. "Probably whenever she comes home. She was supposed to start taking half days today." So she'd been right, he had remembered exactly what deal they'd made, he hadn't pushed it on her though. "We had a deal so she almost certainly will, but she might go on a walk, or go see Faisa."

Maybe those would have been good things, but right now it seemed like a better idea to get her own back on the both of them and walk into the room. "Or she might come straight home."

"Hi, Erika!" Trip reacted first, and looked up from where he was sat on the floor with a smile.

"Ka!" She heard shouted at her, and she got to spot where Toshiko was running toward her from.

"Hey little one." She smiled, and a second later there were too hands with wet paint landing on either side of her bump. The yellow paint being really easy to spot on the dark blue of her uniform. She reached down and picked Toshiko up, smiling wider as she wrapped her arms around her neck and draped a leg over the top of the bump. "Oh, thanks. That's going to be fun to wash out, isn't it? You're covered in paint. Have you been helping?"

"Yep." Tosh replied with a large grin. Clearly happy. The problem with her trying to hold the toddler up was that it hurt her back, so she shifted her round and put her on the floor again.

Tosh kept looking up at her with that same toddler smile, and Erika had to find some way to distract her. "Why don't you go paint?" That was when she looked between the two men on the floor and smirked. They looked barely older than Tosh while covered in paint and smiling. "Now what are you boys doing?"

"Painting the room, Tosh decided she wanted to help." Jon commented, and Tosh looked up at the sound of her name then went back to painting on the paper.

"You're both looking like you're having fun." They really did, and the paint was on the walls mostly. She could see Toshiko's handprints all over the unpainted walls, but they actually added a little extra character to the room. "Didn't you have work today?"

"I took the day off to paint, it was meant to be a surprise for you." Jon continued, it was obvious that he was maybe a little concerned that she was going to be angry with him. "We have two walls finished."

"You do. It looks good."

At that moment Trip stood up and grabbed Toshiko around the waist, causing the three year old to squeal happily. "Actually, we should probably get home. Hoshi's last class finishes at three and I could really do to have Tosh clean by then. I'll come by to help finish it off tomorrow."

"OK. See you later." Jon replied to him as he passed. Trip didn't have to leave but no doubt having a clean toddler would be beneficial for his future health. "Bye trouble." Both she and Jon said at once.

"Bye, bye." Toshiko waved from the way she was being held, and as they left all she was doing was giggling.

As soon as their friends had left, Jon stood up and wrapped his arms around her, thankfully it seemed like the paint covering him was dry, so there wasn't even more paint all over her. "So, do you really like it?"

She looked again at the walls and nodded, she really did like the colour Jon had picked. "I do, it's a very nice colour. Will work no matter what we're having."

"This is true. I'm glad you like it. I really wanted it finished but Tosh was really active today, and we couldn't just let her run around." OK, that was a good reason. Though what a 3 year old could do in a closed room she didn't know.

"No of course not. How about we let this room air out a little, and go for a walk down to the park?"

"I'm OK with that, let me change first. Maybe you should get out of your painted uniform too." Jon pointed to the miniature handprints on her stomach, and she remembered Toshiko's welcome.

"You have a point." She laughed and looked down at Tosh's very obvious handprints either side of the bump. It was hilarious at the same time as being awkward as hell, because while she wasn't happy about the paint, it was sweet to see those tiny handprints, giving some semblance of scale to the size of her bump. It had been a cute scene to walk in on too, and a very lovely thought.


	16. Chapter 16

**Kalil and Jon bond some.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>December 5th 2161<strong>

It had been a long day for Jon, and he'd spent most of it on Jupiter Station doing the annual inspections of the ships that were docked there. He had never expected inspections to be a part of his job when he reached admiral, but apparently they were. As it was he'd only just gotten back to his office, and he was planning on just checking his schedule for the following day then heading home. he'd thought that plan had been stalled when his aide, Lieutenant Kit Barrowman, knocked on the door and let herself into the office. "Admiral?"

"What do you need?" He asked, and he didn't mean to sound as snappy as it came out. He was just not really in the mood to have his plans destroyed. He had too much to do this week and not enough time in which to do it.

Thankfully, as usual, Kit didn't take his bad mood personally and instead just smiled at him calmly. "I have a message from Admiral Gardner, he says you no longer need to inspect the _Jodrell Bank_ while you're inspecting the _Minnesota_ tomorrow. Admiral Birken is doing it instead." OK. That was good news, and would actually help with his plans for the following day.

"Tell him thanks." He ordered, then smiled himself. There was a possibility that Sam was lightening his load on purpose, to try and help him prepare for the baby coming too, but right now that wasn't something he urgently needed. He needed more to be home with Erika.

"Will do." He heard Kit call, but that was when Jon realised that he had nothing else to do, so he picked up the PADD with the reports he needed to read on them and decided to head home and make sure Erika didn't sleep too late.

At the same time, he could give his aide permission to leave too. "Thanks, Kit. You can leave after this." He smiled and tugged his door shut, leaving Kit to lock up and do whatever it was she did after he left every night. Jon hoped that he'd be able to make it home without being stopped too much on the way.

Apparently, that was not meant to be. "Admiral!"

"Kalil!" At least the person who had stopped him was not someone who would detain him too long if Jon said he needed to leave, but it was also someone Jon was certain Erika would be glad to hear about. So he slowed his pace and allowed the captain to catch up fully. "How are you?"

"Good, glad to be home for a couple of days." He genuinely did look happy to be on Earth, something Jon wouldn't have necessarily expected him to be happy about, especially given that it wouldn't mean getting his wife pregnant again this time. As he was thinking about it, Jon realised Kalil's ship hadn't actually been due home just yet, thankfully it seemed Kalil realised where his thoughts were going. "I know, it wasn't planned though, we had a skirmish with some Orions."

"Any injuries?" Skirmishes were never good to hear about, and Jon was sure that anyone who had survived the war would be happy to go the rest of their lives without ever being in a battle situation again.

"None major, just a few minor injuries and some damage." That was a relief, and Jon could tell that Kalil was relieved too that there was nothing else serious that had happened. More death and more destruction right now was not what Starfleet needed, in fact, Starfleet needed the opposite.

So it was the best news Jon could have hoped for given that there had been a skirmish. "That's good to hear. I'm glad no serious damage." That would have been the worst.

"So I overheard your aide, you're doing a lot of inspections?" Kalil had never had very much shame in admitting when he'd heard something he maybe shouldn't have done. It didn't really bother Jon that Kalil had heard it, it didn't even bother him that Kalil was surprised at what was happening to the Admirals. Then again, when Jon had been a captain he hadn't expected to be doing inspections.

"That's most of my job as an admiral. Inspections and ordering people around." He wasn't going to pretend that he did very much more, because right now he didn't. He was still waiting to find out what was going to be put in charge of, he was still hoping for research and development. That didn't change the fact that he'd never expected to be where he was right now when he was a captain, and he doubted any of the current captains would expect it either. "I never expected that would be my job when I was a Captain, but here I am anyway."

"I can't imagine it now. I might stay at Captain if it's that bad." That would probably be best, but Jon did enjoy the fact that being an admiral meant he'd be able to stay on Earth now, for good. "How is Erika?"

That was the type of question Jon was happy to answer for a friend. "She's not too bad, I should really be getting home to check on her." That was where he was going, and why he was subtly aiming them both toward the main exit. He wanted to get home and probably find his wife asleep on the sofa. "She just started doing half days at the beginning of the week and all she does is fall asleep as soon as she get back in an afternoon. I wake her up when I get in."

"Faisa was almost always the same in the third trimester, Erika's at 27 weeks now, right?" How did he do that?

"Yeah, she is." He wasn't going to say she was further along just because he couldn't believe that Kalil had guessed correctly. "You're good at remembering I forget half the time." It was worth praising, if only because Jon never remembered.

Kalil just shrugged and shook his head. "It comes with the amount of kids Faisa and I have. She went on maternity at 30 weeks with all of them." That was when Erika was aiming to go on leave now, but Jon wanted to suggest that she go on leave sooner. That was when he took the chance to check his chrono.

"I really have to get home. Do you want to come see her?" It was worth asking, and seeing one of her crew would no doubt cheer Erika up too. He knew that she missed the camaraderie of having her crew. People who were there with her every day and could manage to share the same interests and the same experiences.

Unfortunately, Jon was sure Kalil wanted to spend the time he had on Earth with his family too. "Nah, I need to get home too. Tell her I say hi. I'm leaving again in a few days, but tell her I'll come visit when I'm next home."

"I will do." He smiled again, glad that he could at least take that promise home to his wife, she would be happy with that at least. He was really going to push the leave though, especially knowing that Faisa had taken leave, and she was a lot younger than Erika was. "I'm going to try and convince her to take leave soon though. I think she needs to given how exhausted she is.

"Just don't push her too hard. See you soon." Kalil smiled and walked away, leaving Jon just staring after him for a few minutes and thinking.

As soon as he'd made sure he'd picked the right course of action, Jon just walked all the way back to their apartment. It was only a fifteen minute walk, but some days he really hated the walk because it both gave him too much time to think, and it was too short to really think of anything in depth. As soon as he walked through the door he saw his wife looking adorably asleep on the sofa. "Erika, wake up." He said quietly, kneeling down next to the sofa and smiling as she blearily looked at him a second later.

"I'm awake." She tried, but there was no chance he was buying that. She hadn't been awake at all.

"No you aren't. Come on honey." He whispered again, and this time she groaned and pushed herself up into a sitting position, which clearly took more effort than she'd been planning. Then she just stared at him for a minute before yawning at him widely.

"I keep falling asleep, I fell asleep at work today." That was news, but he wasn't surprised given that she looked almost as though she was falling asleep during dinner some days, it was probably because she didn't get enough time to sleep comfortably.

But it did give him an opening to start bringing up exactly the solution that he'd been thinking about since seeing Kalil. He would suggest it, at least, and she could hit him if she felt like it. Though the chances were she wouldn't. "Maybe it's time you think about taking your maternity leave?"

"I'm considering it, Bunny doesn't let me sleep that much." That hadn't been the response he'd been expecting. He at most expected her to say she wouldn't yet but would think about it. Saying she was considering it was another level he hadn't expected at all.

"I think you should, I'm sure that you'll be able to do a lot of the remaining prep that you need to do." She was the one who had been complaining that they hadn't prepared enough for the baby. While he was certain that was probably true, he couldn't think of what else they'd need to do."That might be for the best."

Erika just smiled at him, still looking as sleepy as she had been when she woke up. "Yeah, you're right." She admitted, and Jon once again had to do a double take. She was really surprising him tonight, and it was unexpected and he was unprepared. "I'm really sleepy." She grinned, and he tried to think of something they could do where it would be appropriate for her to just fall asleep.

"How about I make us some pancakes for dinner then, and we can just watch a movie in bed." That was the only suggestion he could think off, and he hoped that it was enough that she manage to stay awake for a little while.

"I'm OK with this as an idea." She smiled then yawned again.

"Good." He kissed her forehead and just smiled as she pushed herself up to a standing position. It had been easier to convince her that it was possibly time for her to take leave, but that was probably more because she was tired. He wouldn't be surprised if she'd been thinking about it herself. He knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't want to let him know that, though. They still had a few days to decide, and he'd leave it up to her.


	17. Chapter 17

**Kiona gets a call from her former CO, who just needs some reassurance.  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>December 8th 2161<strong>

Erika had been debating what to do all day. She'd started by organising her room and making sure her things were in the right drawers, then she'd started hanging things up in the wardrobe. Then she'd had a nap. Now she wasn't sure what she could do. She had remembered a letter asking her to call Kiona if she ever needed to talk, maybe today was time for her to do that. "Connect through to Commander Kiona Thayer. Captain Erika Hernandez calling." She ordered, the screen flashing and showing her waiting on her former tactical officer.

She was sitting around just waiting, hoping that she didn't look as miserable as she was suddenly feeling. It probably wasn't working. She just stared at the picture above the screen, of her and Jon on their wedding day. It was hard to believe how quickly everything had changed. It was a little over six months since she'd gotten pregnant, less than a year since they were married. Things had changed quickly really. "Well don't you look miserable." Erika heard then smirked.

"Thanks, Kiona. Real supportive." She rolled her eyes at the greeting from her friend. It was too hard for her to think of anything else to say, especially given that she was feeling miserable. Kiona would talk her out of that fast though.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Kiona asked straight away, she was the first one to say anything about anyone doing something different to their schedule. So of course she'd know that Erika was meant to be at work.

Of course though she hadn't skipped work just to call her friend, she had started her leave, and while she was sure that nobody would have expected her to start her leave earlier than she had to, it turned out that what she'd expected and what she'd needed was different. "Nope, I started my maternity leave today."

"Well, that's not what I expected you to say." She had rarely done what people expected. Her entire life was not what anyone had expected. Nobody had expected her to join Starfleet, none of them had expected her to be good at it, none of them had expected her and Jonathan to settle down and even she hadn't expected them to have a baby. So she didn't blame Kiona for asking. "Really?"

"I fell asleep in my office last Friday." She admitted and shook her head. She really regretted that. Madeline her poor aide had found her sound asleep on her couch with the PADD she'd been reading sprawled on the floor. "Jon and I spoke over the weekend and going on leave seems like the best idea now. It would mean I can sleep whenever I feel the need to sleep."

"How often is that?" More often than she wanted to admit. There was no point saying that though. Kiona was asking a very fair question, and she deserved a fair answer.

So Erika thought on how often she had to sleep. It was a lot. "I settle down for a nap every three or four hours." She hadn't really counted all the differences, but when she thought about it, it was probably not surprising, given she never slept for longer than half an hour at a time. Maybe an hour in the middle of the night. "I sleep for half an hour and then I'm ready to go again, and really, Bunny doesn't let me sleep much more than that." She laughed and patted the bump, then shook her head with a laugh.

At least Kiona seemed to understand now why Erika had called her. "So, you're calling me because you're bored?"

"How did you figure that out?" It didn't matter she was right, it mattered that she'd figured it out. Erika wanted to avoid that in future if she could. Being predictable was basically the worst thing she could imagine, and she never ever wanted to have to face that.

Kiona started smirking and rolled her eyes, making sure that Erika knew exactly what she meant. "Because that's when you used to call senior staff briefings on _Columbia_ and torture us with stories about when you were a junior officer." OK she had done that, normally more when she had nothing to do than just because she was bored. She had been a great junior officer, and she was sure those stories had all been informative. "What's up?"

"I didn't realise it was a pattern." She joked, but she was pretty sure she had realised that it was a pattern. She had actually depended on her officers knowing that it was a pattern.

"Erika, what's up?" Kiona finally said a little harshly. She knew that Kiona just wanted to make her say what was on her mind, but the problem was that Erika didn't really know what was on her mind.

So instead she just started rambling, hoping to get it all out. "You know, I never planned on having a family." She just spoke, and she never had planned on starting a family. Children had never been in her life plan, really marriage had never been in her life plan. Things changed though, and this was one of the many ways that happened. If she'd never met Jon, none of this would be happening. "That's not to say I'm not happy that I'm starting one or that I'm not excited about the baby. I'm just not sure I'm ready."

"You're 46, if not now?" That was a fair question, and Erika was glad Kiona asked it. Because it was going to make her think even more. She trailed off and just thought, hoping that what she was thinking would make sense.

"I know, I even agree." She did, because she knew Jon had always wanted a family. He'd never tried to push her into one, though. "But I also read the reports of everyone still out there and think 'what if that was me' you know?" Thinking about everything she had wanted when she was younger was beginning to bother her. That was the problem. She was suddenly feeling trapped.

"Well, yeah. But would you really want to still be out here after all you've been through, leaving the baby at home with Jon. Always facing the chance that they could lose their mom on any given day." Kiona, as usual, presented her biggest fears to her in the most emotional way. It made sure that Erika faced it.

And face it she did. It wasn't the nicest of things that she had to think about, but Kiona was right. She didn't want to put her family through that. It had been hard enough during the war. "You're right, of course."

"I know." Kiona grinned widely, and it was quite obvious that she enjoyed being right.

"I can't help but think about everything that I'm missing though." It was ridiculous that she was thinking about it though. During the war all she had wanted was to make it home and stay home, settle down with Jon and be a real couple. So she needed to stop herself from acting as though she was losing something. "I really shouldn't because even if I wasn't pregnant I'd want to be on Earth. I think it's fear."

"Fear of what?" She asked compassionately, and Erika just smile sadly.

Erika tried to think of a way to phrase it in a good way, but then she realised that wasn't going to work. So instead she just said things as they came into mind. "The future, being a parent. Not being the master of my own destiny any longer."

"Now that's a bit hyperbolic, isn't it?" Kiona cut her off, and that was probably for the best. She was right too. Erika was being ridiculous.

"It is, but that's how I've been feeling the last few days. Probably because needing to go on leave has made me realise how soon I'm going to have a little human being depending on me for their safety and security." She smiled then shook her head. There was something else playing on her mind, and that was also probably another reason why she'd called Kiona out of everyone she could have contacted. That was that they shared one ship in common. "I kind of miss _Columbia_."

"I miss _Columbia_ pretty often." Kiona admitted a few seconds later with a smile and shook her head. "Things were very special there, it's not exactly the same on any other ship. Probably because no other Captain is quite like you."

"Really?" Erika wasn't entirely sure if that was a compliment or not.

"Erika, you're bonkers." Kiona laughed loudly, and Erika couldn't help but join in, something that Bunny didn't seem to enjoy. "You'll enjoy being a parent though."

There was no chance that she was wrong. Erika was already looking forward to it, and unsurprisingly everyone said that was a sign she'd enjoy it. "Probably."

"Sit down with Jon tonight and reread your logs from during the war. You'll stop missing being out here in a few minutes." That would almost certainly be sure to make her stop missing space in a heartbeat. "I have to get back to the bridge."

Erika smiled, once again sure that Kiona was the voice of reason. "You're right. Thanks for being the voice of sanity."

"Give that husband of yours a kiss for me tonight. I'll see you next time I'm on Earth."

"Bye." Erika shook her head and collapsed down onto the sofa. She really was probably just struggling because knowing that everything was about to change. For most of her life she had wanted to be an explorer, and had wanted to get as far away from Earth and responsibility as she could. Now she was going to be staying on Earth, and the bump was proof that she was about to have more responsibility than she could handle. Maybe one more nap could help her be happier and more comfortable right now. Just one more nap.


	18. Chapter 18

**Jon and Erika attend a birth class. Also, because I am an idiot you're getting 3 chapters today. Blame AmeliaElizabeth by going and reading her awesome SassCaptains series. That'll show her. Yep.  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>December 10th 2161<strong>

Jon had never really been much of a fan of sitting still and listening to something, and this was no different. Erika had decided they needed to take a birthing class, but all he could do was sit and try not to be awkward. He'd given up listening a long time ago, and now was staring at the other people he could see in front of him and accidentally tickling Erika. She was clearly not impressed at his lack of attention. "Jonathan, concentrate." She whispered harshly, and he tried to refocus on the monotone droll of the instructor.

"I'm trying but this is ridiculous." He commented, and Erika snorted a little. It was obvious she was trying not to laugh. Now he was very glad that they were sat at the very back of the room, and there was a screen protecting them from too much interest. There was at least that in their favour of being a well known couple.

"We were recommended to take a birth class, this is the only one we could fit in to your schedule." She whispered back, and while that was true, it was also ridiculous. He and Erika were combat veterans, and he was fairly sure they'd both done a lot more than the people in this room could believe while in pain. It just didn't seem like it would actually be all that helpful to be here. As for him having a really busy schedule, that came with being an admiral it seemed.

"Well, I'm a busy man, I'm an admiral you know?" He whispered to her, desperately trying to keep sounding serious. It wasn't the easiest right now.

Erika yelped in laughter and tried to calm herself down again before she elbowed him in the side. "Jonathan!" She hissed, trying to get him to stop being annoying. That just made him want to be more annoying.

"Can I help you at the back?" Came the voice of the instructor, and Jon looked up at the same time as Erika both feeling suitably chastised.

Apparently it seemed to be obvious that he wasn't going to say anything, So Erika spoke loud enough that people would be able to hear her. "No, my husband is just being an idiot."

"Ouch, that was unnecessary." He commented quietly, trying to avoid thinking about exactly why he found the fact that she was happy enough to tell people he was an idiot made him so happy.

He just sat holding her, and she relaxed back against him again. It was quite nice to be sat cuddling with her more than he was enjoying the lesson. The two of them hadn't spent all that much time sat like this, because both of them were too busy to really take time out of their day like this. "Stop tickling me." Erika whispered after a while with a quiet laugh, he needed to think about other ways that he could be entertained. But it wasn't working.

"I'm bored Rike." He moaned a few minutes later. He was just going to keep trying to listen, but the monotone was making him want to fall asleep.

"Then pay attention." Erika tried again to try and get him to pay attention to what they were doing, but it wasn't working, and she knew it likely wasn't going to work. He knew she knew. But she still tried, and he gave her that.

"You can't be finding this helpful." He muttered a few seconds later, before he leant forward and kissed her neck then whispered into her ear his next point. "I'm pretty sure you just shoot the baby out."

"Oh my god, Jonathan." She said once she'd managed to control her laughter. It was a good job she knew he was joking, because otherwise he was sure she'd make him sit in on a biology lecture at STC.

"It's true." He muttered again, then started kissing her neck and shoulder. He wasn't going to pretend he was playing fair, but he was comfortable sitting with her and she clearly wasn't disagreeing with him.

"I'm gonna get annoyed with you." Was all she said after a little while, and that was when he knew that she was no longer paying attention either.

So he carried on kissing her neck and just smiled against her cheek. "You haven't said that you disagree." He wondered if this was the appropriate time to suggest that they make an escape. It was easy to suggest escape right now, but it possibly wasn't the easiest to actually do with Erika being the size she currently was. "Let's just get out of here, we don't need this."

"Are you sure?" Erika asked a few seconds later, so she really wasn't paying attention even a little anymore.

"Are you?" He asked, because he really wanted to escape, but it mattered more if Erika thought she could escape. He smiled, glad to know at least that she was bored too.

"Yeah, this is pointless." Erika said eventually, leaning against him once more then leant around and kissed him gently before levering herself into a standing position, using his shoulders. She was smiling, and he just clambered up too and laughed as she waved at the instructor and spoke. "Thanks but... we're done." She motioned between the two of them, then turned and walked straight out of the door behind them. "I'm gonna regret that when I go into labour." She muttered a few minutes later as they got to the cafe in the community centre. Jon smiled as he took her hand and laughed. He couldn't really help it, it just seemed like a hilarious situation.

As for her regretting walking out of the class, he strongly doubted it. She was going to do it all the way she wanted when it came to her having the baby. She would know what was best. "No, you aren't. Babies come out one way or another you'll just have to do it your way."

"You're a bad influence, Jonathan Archer." She muttered a few seconds later, then stepped onto her tiptoes and kissed him gently. He smiled, glad to see her looking happy.

"Well, you've known that for more than twenty years." He motioned to one of the waitresses and motioning for two sodas. Being that Erika had known him for long enough to have known that he was a bad influence on people. He wasn't the only one, they'd had plenty of experience with that. "I'm not taking the blame for your bad life decisions."

It seemed like his comment about bad life decisions made Erika think about something, and whatever it was wasn't making her happy. He took hold of her hand and smiled at the waitress, then looked again at Erika again seriously. "You know what I couldn't stop thinking about last night?" She said eventually.

"What?" He asked, a little concerned but not too worried that she had a problem. She just looked a little upset.

"How AG and Veronica would feel knowing we're here now." She eventually said quietly and frowned even more, not that he could blame her. It was an obvious thing, and something he'd thought about a few times over the last few months. AG had been their friend, and he had been the first person to try and get them together all those years ago. Veronica had been Erika's best friend for a long time, and he knew that she still missed her. It was never easy to accept best friends were gone.

"They'd both be thrilled." He replied and tried to smile. He knew they'd both be happy about their current situation, and they'd want to help Erika through it any way they could. "AG never understood why we let duty come between us. I think he just wanted us to be happy, and he knew us long enough to know we made each other happy. Andrea seems to be excited though." They'd both spoken to AG's daughter recently, and she was very excited for another baby coming. That was something.

Erika smirked and shook her head then laughed. Obviously that speech gave her a reason to smile again. "She does, I need to call Ruby soon, on that note. I've not seen her in a while." Neither of them had been. It was hard for Ruby to be around them all sometimes, he just hoped that they would all be able to get together for them to all me the baby.

"That's a good plan." Then he thought about Erika's best friend, and he was just worried about how that would affect his wife. Knowing that Veronica wouldn't be able to meet the baby. "Veronica would also be happy, she'd laugh about it more though." Veronica would never stop laughing, and she would make as many jokes about their pregnancy as he could.

"I miss them Jonathan." Erika admitted, and it was clear that she was upset about the fact their friends weren't there. He missed their friends too. Not just AG and Veronica, but all the other friends they'd lost through the years. They'd both lost their fair share of friends, through the war and the other issues there had been.

The fact was that they both just missed their friends, and in some ways that was making it even harder for them to be happy about everything. Soon enough though he was sure that they would be able to put it behind them and just tell their baby about the friends. "I know, me too."

"Things would be very different if they were here." Erika commented, and he just smirked, because it was so easy for him to think about the many ways it would be different. For one thing they may have managed to get back together sooner, or it may have taken longer. Either way he was sure about what had happened and everything he had to thank his friends for.

He smiled again after a few minutes then focused on other things, more because he wanted to think about what they can teach about their lives. "Let's just focus on the fact that in a few weeks, Bunny will be here and we can teach him or her all about our friends."

"You're right, of course." Erika admitted after a few minutes. hen

He leant down and started speaking directly to the bump. He hated that they were having to talk about this, but he was also happy to tell their baby that they didn't have a choice in hearing about their friends. "You hear that Bunny, you're going to learn all about our friends." He then looked up to Erika while still smiling. "I love you." He muttered, thinking over absolutely everything that he loved about her, which was almost everything. It was easy enough to think about her given that she was the first person he thought about and the last too. He was excited, and telling her that he loved her was something he would never regret doing.

Erika lifted his chin and kissed him hard. Clearly this had been the perfect time to tell her that. She was rarely this affectionate unless she needed to be. "Me too."

"We should go home." They had no real reason to be staying here. It was clear that they weren't going back to the birthing class, and they'd both almost finished their sodas. There was no need for them to stay here much longer.

"How about we go swimming, then go home?" Erika suggested with a smirk, and he couldn't help but be glad to see that she was smiling.

"I can agree to that." Jon laughed loudly. He knew that Erika was happier and more comfortable when she was in water now. She'd never been fond of swimming until recently, but now she said that it took a lot of the strain off her joints. She wouldn't go unless he could go with her, because he was a stronger swimmer than she was. Feeling the baby kicking around while they were in the water was an interesting experience, but it was perfect. It was a nice idea to go swimming, he just hoped she'd brought their swimsuits.


	19. Chapter 19

**Erika has a problem.  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>December 12th 2161<strong>

She'd been having a lot of pain all day, but she wasn't really thinking much about it. Hoshi had taken the day off, so Erika had spent the day there. She was currently sat on the floor with Toshiko doing some painting and trying to ignore the cramps. Whatever she had eaten the night before was clearly not settling well. Maybe ignoring it wasn't the best idea, but it was all she could think to do. That was at least until Hoshi realised something was going on. "Erika, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I just have some pains." She muttered, shaking her head as she did. It was quite obviously going to be harder to pretend that she wasn't in pain than she thought. Hoshi was eagle-eyed and it didn't help.

"Often?" Something was clearly going through Hoshi's mind, but she didn't really know what it could be. It was far too early for her to be in labour. The baby wasn't due for almost 13 weeks.

"About every ten minutes or so." Erika was being honest, because it was really important that she was. Hoshi was the one with experience, and she wanted to help. Her own pigheaded stubbornness was not really a good enough reason to put the baby in danger.

Hoshi, clearly, was thinking that Erika was in labour, even though she was denying it. She was never ever going to think about how easy it would be for her to right it off. "How far through are you?" Hoshi asked, and it was definitely a problem.

"Twenty eight weeks, two days." She only knew because she'd had to fill in her paperwork earlier. It was ridiculously hard to imagine that she was already far more than halfway through.

Hoshi thought a few minutes more, and started playing pat-a-cake with Tosh, still studying Erika, who kept desperately trying to not look like she was in pain at all. "We should probably take you to emergency." Was said eventually. That was the last thing Erika needed. She didn't want to spend the night in the emergency room having to deal with the fallout of all of the problems she had here.

"I don't need to go. It'll be fine." She was going to be adamant about that, but it almost certainly wasn't going to work. If Hoshi was truly worried she'd call Jon, and Jon would make her go to emergency. Which would actually be even less dignified than going herself.

"That's not necessarily true, Erika. Come on." Hoshi tried to prod her into taking action. She still wasn't sure that was the best idea, but it was going to happen.

That was when she tried to get up off the floor, and she realised that wasn't going to happen. "I can't walk." Erika said, then tried desperately to get up again. It probably wasn't going to work easily for her, all she wanted was to get up and pretend this wasn't happening. Now she was getting worried too.

"Then I'm calling the paramedics." Hoshi walked over to the main communications panel, Erika was about to say something, but her friend held her finger up and shook her head. "We have to make sure that you and the baby are OK." That was it, Hoshi had said the magic words. She needed to check that they baby was healthy.

"I'm sure we're both fine, it's probably just stomach cramps." She was going to keep saying they were stomach cramps, because that made more sense. It was also what she hoped was going on. She really didn't want it to be something about the baby.

"You can't guarantee that." It was clear, now, that Hoshi was going to talk her into going, so she just nodded, letting her win. She was worried about the baby, who wasn't at all as active as she usually was. That was enough of a panic for her to agree to go to the hospital. "Want me to call Jonathan?" Hoshi asked after a few minutes.

"I guess we probably should. He'll want to know." He would want to know, and he'd be worried and terrified when he heard about it.

There was a lot going on, but Hoshi seemed to have the best idea and was now not going to let her dodge the fact that she'd agreed to go now. "Let's get the paramedics sent out first, then we'll definitely have to get Jon involved too."

"He's at work, he's probably busy." She didn't want to disturb Jon right now. He would be so busy with everything else that was going on within Starfleet that he didn't have time to deal with emergencies.

"He'll make time." That was again probably true. Jon would hear the words 'wife' and 'emergency' and ignore anything else that might be coming up that he needed to do. She hoped he did his urgent things before coming to check on her. A second later Erika heard one half of the conversation with the paramedics. "Hi, I have a woman here possibly in pre-term labour. Thanks. We'll be here." She said, then Erika heard another number dialled, and the voice of Jon's aide in the background. "Hi, Kit. It's Hoshi, can you get Jon to call me as soon as he gets chance, it's an emergency. Thanks."

There was still only one question in her mind, and that was whether or not this was all an over-reaction that none of them needed. "Don't you think you're over-reacting?"

"Not when there is a chance that you're in labour." Hoshi said, picking up Tosh as she ran into the room. "Come on Toshie, we gotta look after aunty Erika." She smiled as the paramedics arrived. Erika answered all the questions posed to her as best she could, and then just allowed them to move her through to the hospital. She was glad that she was taken straight to a private room, and she was sure that she was going to end up being checked out by everyone in the hospital.

She was waiting mostly on her own. Hoshi taking Tosh to go and actually find Jonathan, something that Erika was proud of. Suddenly she really wanted him to be with her. After a little while her OB, Dr. Talbot, came into the room with a smile. "Captain, how are you doing?"

"I have some cramps, they are coming and going so my friend over-reacted." She may be downplaying it a little, but she really wanted it to be nothing serious. She was telling herself that if she mentally pretended there was no problem then there would be no problem.

Talbot didn't look anywhere near as calm as Erika had hoped as she looked at the scans they'd had taken. "Well, our scans say that you're contracting, so we need to give you some drugs to stop it. It's best that we make sure that they stop. Junior isn't quite ready to make an appearance." That was an understatement, she had too far to go for Bunny to be ready to come.

"My body may be disagreeing with that." She commented, because right now all she could think was that for some reason they were going to lose this baby, just like last time.

"No, we'll stop it before it gets that far." Talbot was trying as hard as she could to reassure her, but it wasn't working. Right now she was suddenly just afraid. "Is your husband on the way?" That was a fair question, and Erika hoped that Jon was on his way, and that Hoshi had found him.

"Hoshi should be looking for him. I just want him here." That was probably obvious now. It was scary to be facing this alone.

"Understandable. Now you just need to make sure that you know the risks. There is no guarantee that we'll be able to stop your labour at this point, but I don't see any reason why we won't be able to though." Erika understood that they _had_ to explain that they might not be able to stop things, but that manage to panic her even more.

Right now, all she needed to know was if her son or daughter would be alright no matter what. "What will happen if you don't?"

"Well, you'll give birth." That seemed to be obvious, so Erika just kept looking at Talbot until the doctor continued. "The baby will be early and probably need care. We're going to keep an eye on you, and give you this medicine to stop your labour."

At that moment she heard Jon's voice from out in the hall. He was obviously agitated, and maybe he hadn't been able to find her until now. "I'm looking for Captain Hernandez?"

"Someone save Jonathan before he drives the nurses mental." She smiled sadly and looked out toward the slightly open door. Glad when Talbot stood up and went to the door.

"Admiral, we're in here." Talbot called out, and a second later Jon jogged into the room. "Captain I'll be back."

"Are you OK?" Jon asked, standing over her then pulled her into a hug. She needed the comfort of being held by him, and it really helped her feel a little more confident about what was going on. She was so scared now that it was all sinking in.

She couldn't help but start crying as she leant against his chest, mostly from fear. "They are trying to stop me contracting. I'm sorry Jon, I'm so sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry about, babe." He wrapped his arms around her tighter, and Erika just tried to focus on her breathing and on the fact that they might be able to stop her labour. She just wanted for the baby to be OK, that was the most important thing to her right now.


	20. Chapter 20

**Mwahahahahahahahahaha I left a very short gap between posting this chapter. It was gonna be longer, but AE begged and begged for me to update... so I thought... why not?  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>December 15th 2161<strong>

It had been a very long few weeks, mostly though he'd had to deal with the last few days, and making sure that Erika was on bed rest. She was never going to accept it easily, and therefore he needed to try and keep her in bed. He was going to try as many different ways as he possibly could to both cheer her up and keep her in bed. So as he waited for the call to connect he wondered how, exactly, he was going to tell Erika's big brother that she was on bed rest for the next few weeks, especially with Christmas only being ten days away. Christmas was a big deal to the Hernandez clan, and this would have been the first year in a long time he and Erika were home for it. He was still ruminating on that when there was finally a flurry of activity and Simon's face filled the screen. "Jonathan?"

"Hey, Simon." He replied, trying to sound calm and like he didn't have a care in the world. That wasn't going to work at all though, because Jon was never the one to call Simon, just like Erika never called his mother. Unfortunately this situation didn't give him a choice.

"I expected you to be Erika. What's wrong?" So, Simon knew there was something wrong just by the fact that Jonathan had called, not Erika, just as he suspected. That was a problem, but he would have needed to tell Simon what was going on before long.

He stopped for a minute and frowned, having worried about not upsetting Erika, and not letting Simon worry too much anyway. He couldn't lie though, and he had to tell him what was going on. "Erika's been put on bed rest, a few days ago she went into pre-term labour."

The horror look on Simon's face made Jon realise that as a father he knew exactly the worry and terror that he and Erika had faced a few days earlier. It was nice to know it was a universal parental worry. "She's only, what, 27 weeks?" Simon asked after a minute, still looking concerned.

"28, but yes." Jon couldn't help but correct, purely because that was another week where the baby had developed, which was exactly what he was trying to focus on, and why he was keeping Erika in her bed. "I called to ask whether you and the kids could come for a visit?"

"Wouldn't that be too much for her?" Simon asked, and Jon had made sure to check with her doctors before even calling anyone, including his mother. They could still do Christmas, it was just going to be harder.

"I think it would be helpful, actually, and I checked with her doctor." While he was sure that the doctor would have told him to stop if there was any worry for Erika, he wouldn't have done anything. "She's sat at home and is completely miserable. I feel awful for her and there is only so much that I can do." He hated admitting that he couldn't cheer her up on his own.

"The girls finish school on Friday, we'll come over then and stay through Christmas. I'll book a couple rooms." It was clear that Simon agreed it would help, so he was coming.

Jon was happy that Simon had agreed to come, she would be really happy when they showed up. It would be a lot easier for them all if they just stayed at his mom's house. It was mostly stood empty since his mom spent most of her time in New York, or would stay with him and Erika when she visited. Having Simon and the family stay there would be helpful. His mom was planning to sell in the new year, using it a little before then would probably be helpful. "Great. You can probably stay at my mom's place here. I'll call her, she'll probably come down too."

"Is the baby OK Jon? I don't think Erika could survive losing this one." Jon didn't need to be reminded of the first time they'd tried for a baby. Erika had miscarried, and that had ended up being the beginning of the end for them first time round. This time he was fairly sure that the baby would be OK, no matter what.

"The baby is perfectly fine, every scan they've done shows that she's healthy." Jon was proud that at least the baby seemed to be getting through everything fine. He still couldn't help but think that she was going to be a girl. Erika though was going stir crazy and it had only been three days. "Erika's not holding up so well though."

Simon laughed a little then shook his head. At least that told him that Erika had always been this stubborn when it came to doing absolutely nothing. It made him a little more confident that eventually she'd give up. "She's never liked having to rest, or not being active. Even when we were kids."

"I'm glad she's always been this stubborn. She's nice and calm, but stubborn. She keeps wanting to move around." He just chuckled along with Simon, hoping that the noise wouldn't wake Erika up. She'd finally fallen asleep again when last he checked.

"We'll come to help. Tell her that her big brother loves her. I'll bring mom too." Simon just smirked again and shook his head. He was fairly sure that they both knew that Lita Hernandez was possibly just going to make things harder on them all. The difference was that Erika would be happy to see her mother.

"I will. Thanks Simon. Seeing your mom will help too." He thought, at least. He probably wouldn't know for sure until they were here.

Simon smiled again and then looked a little serious. They were both thinking something along the same lines. "No problem Jon, never hesitate to call me when it's something about Erika."

"I'll remember that. Bye." He smiled again and waved as he shut off the comm. It was a plan he had put into action, and he really hoped that it worked, all he wanted was to cheer Erika up.

Jon then just tried to busy himself. He cleaned out the fridge and washed all the dishes. He needed to go to work on Monday, so working on the housework right now was the better idea. He was about to settle down with a book and relax when there was suddenly a call from the bedroom. "Jonathan. You out there?" He got up and smiled, then headed into the bedroom. A minute later he rounded the door and laughed at Erika's frustrated face looking up at him.

"You're awake?" He asked, then climbed onto the bed, glad he hadn't put his shoes on. He wrapped his arm around her and let her cuddle up a little.

She yawned and settled back against him. He kissed the top of her head and smiled again, comfortable for the moment cuddling with his family. Eventually he would have to get up and do a few things. "For a few minutes. Where did I drop my book?"

"Here, I've got it." He picked it up and reached over her, putting it on the bedside table on her other side. "Shall I make us some dinner?"

"I don't think I have the energy to eat right now." Erika muttered, and Jon wasn't really surprised, he probably wouldn't want to eat after not moving for several days. He'd be bored stiffless too. "Can we put a movie on and cuddle a bit? I want you to tell me about everything that's going on at Starfleet." That was a strange request, only because he couldn't imagine being interested in what's happening in Starfleet.

"Why are you interested in Starfleet?" He asked, he'd tell her still because it was basically all the gossip that he had. She'd still want to know about it all too.

Erika rolled her eyes and shook her head then looked at him seriously. "Because all the gossip the two of us have had in the last 20 years has been related to Starfleet. Almost all our friends are in Starfleet too."

Well, he couldn't argue with that. "OK, you have a point there. I can't tell you too much though." He trailed off and tried to think about something that he could tell her. There was one big bit of gossip that Erika would be happy about it. "Shran's coming to visit."

"Oh, I would go see him if I could, but since I have to stay in bed I can't." She sounded rather frustrated, probably unsurprisingly.

"I'll talk to him, maybe he'll want to some here and visit."

"That would be horribly cruel, wouldn't it?" Erika thought then shook her head with a laugh. "I doubt he's seen a pregnant human before, let alone one that's grumpy and not allowed to get out of bed." It was getting more and more obvious that she was angry she couldn't get out of bed.

"Maybe he'll come again once Bunny has arrived, I'd love to see him with a baby." He couldn't help but picture that in his mind, but it had been too funny a mental image not to share.

Erika sniggered, and all Jon could do was laugh along with her, the idea of Shran holding a very tiny baby was far too funny for him to ignore. "You know, I'd love to see Soval with a baby. Maybe one day soon." She was clearly looking forward again, finally, and he felt a lot better knowing that she was feeling better.

"Probably. How about we just put a movie on. You pick?" He held Erika tighter, and rested his hand on the bump. There was something that he loved about being able to feel their little miracle, who was clearly trying to let them know he or she was still going strong. It was good for them both to know they were comfortable and happy. Soon enough the baby would be greeting them, and Erika would be happier, not having to stay in bed all the time. Soon their extended family would be here to cheer her up too, and that would help the most.


	21. Chapter 21

**Sooooo... who didn't see that twist coming. Bunny is OK! For now...  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>December 20th 2161<strong>

She'd been sleeping on and off today. She wasn't particularly tired, but out of boredom and frustration she was falling asleep. She'd woken up from another nap and just hoped that she could find her PADD. There were voices in the living room, though, and Erika wondered who Jon had around. She was still wondering that a minute later when a smirking face came round the door and Erika ended up smiling too. "Hey kid. I heard you needed a visit."

"Simon! What are you doing here?" She desperately tried to sit herself up, but it wasn't working very easily. So she flopped down and laughed when Simon sat on the bed beside her. She knew Christmas was coming up, but as far as she'd known Simon and his family weren't due here until Christmas Eve.

"Your husband wasn't _completely_ inept and called me a few days ago." That really was typical of her family. Simon managed to both praise and insult Jon in the space of two words. It took a lot of control to do that.

"I thought you and Jon had settled your differences?" The last few years the two of them had seemed to start getting along better. At least the way she'd seen them they had been. It had taken a lot for them to get at all close.

Simon rolled his eyes and laughed, which gave Erika chance to push herself up a little higher and collapsed back against the pillows. "Nah, we just pretend for you and the girls."

Mentioning the girls made her realise that if Simon was here, his girls probably were, and the other family who would no doubt have followed along with him. "Where are the girls?"

"With Jon in the living room." That would explain why Jon hadn't come through with Simon like he normally would do, he was protective right now. Simon smile again and shook his head. "Mom, Maria and Jon's mom are out shopping for something." That was a disturbing thought, poor Maria, playing referee for the day while the two soon-to-be grandmothers bickered.

"I'm not sure I want to know what they're shopping for." She couldn't help but laugh, because imagining the shopping trip she was blissfully missing out on was far more entertaining than she would usually have admitted. She was also sure that the babysitting uncle was part of Simon's plan too. "Using Jon as your babysitter, huh?"

Simon snickered again and put a hand on the bump, then shook his head slowly. "Hey we're here to see you. It's only fair that Jon looks after the girls." Well, she wouldn't say 'fair' but she also knew that Jon wouldn't complain at spending the time they were in San Francisco playing with his nieces. "It's nearly Christmas, are you ready?"

"Don't remind me." She laughed again then shook her head and laid back. She hated that her Christmas was going to be spent in bed, or possibly on the sofa if she could convince Jon to carry her there. The bigger problem was that she was extremely bored, and that made staying in bed harder. "Jon's been so busy lately I've read almost every book in the house, and now I'm on every free book I can get on my PADD. I was left some books by a friend who died during the war that I might make a start on next."

"That boring huh?" Simon asked seriously, and Erika wondered if she should maybe sugar-coat it for him or not. He was never going to know exactly how boring being on bed rest was. Even when he'd been ordered to stay in bed Simon had moved around, then again he hadn't had Starfleet rules drilled into him quite the same way she had. He was just a politician, and therefore could disobey the rules if he felt like it.

Instead, she decided to take the easy way out. "While Jon's at work, yeah. Normally when he gets home we sit here and watch movies or talk to each other." She actually enjoyed that part of this. Jon was being protective, but more than anything he would spend almost all his free time curled up with her. "It's quite nice. I'm just fed up here. It's been eight days and I'm just so bored."

"If it keeps the baby safe though?" Simon pointed out, that was the whole reason that she was laid here basically unmoving.

"I'll be here for another eleven weeks, I don't think I can cope with being here another eleven weeks." She was going to lose it before then, but probably if it got too bad once the baby was at term she would start moving around. That was only seven weeks away. While she hated that she needed to be here, she knew it was the best. "It is worth it though if Bunny is safe."

At that moment they were distracted by the sound of running feet and a thud against the door before the handle started turning. A second later, the curly hair of her younger niece came around and bounded up to her father. "Aunty Erika!" Amelia shouted shrilly, and Erika had to fight the urge to cover her ears.

"Hey Mela, aren't you supposed to be out with Uncle Jon?" Simon said, but it was obvious that Amelia wasn't paying any attention to her father, all her attention was focused on her aunt.

"He said that daddy would have spoken enough by now and I could come and talk to you." That was Jon's passive aggressive way of reminding Simon that the kids were both here for the moment, and they would listen to what was said more than anyone would probably "Do you have to stay in bed now?" Amelia then asked with a grin.

"I do for the next little while, at least until Bunny comes."

Amelia looked at her seriously then climbed onto Simon's knee. "So, next time we see you the baby should have come?" She asked, and Erika wondered how long the nine year old thought it took for a baby to be born.

"Hopefully. Bunny should be here before long." She decided it wasn't worth explaining today. The chances were that she wouldn't be seeing them again before Bunny arrived, so it wasn't worth trying to explain anyway.

"I'm excited about having a baby." Amelia said again, and Simon this time was just chuckling. Obviously this had been a conversation they'd had back in New Mexico more than once. "It seems like a long time since there has been a baby around."

"Since you were a baby!"

It was clear that Amelia disagreed with that seeing as she sat and shook her head strongly in her direction. "Nope. Cammie's friend Nicole had a baby last year. He's getting big now though."

"Babies never stay little for long kiddo." Simon answered, this

"Why not? They are cute when they're little. I don't like it when they get bigger." That had always been Erika's opinion on children too. They were cute, and then they weren't anymore. "They start to talk and then they get annoying."

"That's what I said when Cammie was born." Erika answered, and Amelia grinned and ran off, straight out the room and clearly heading back to the living room. Probably immediately to tell her sister what Erika had said. She would have done it to Simon when they were kids.

"Did you really need to tell her that?"

Erika shrugged and smiled. There was something about purposefully annoying her nieces that fed into her idea of entertainment. More through knowing that Simon was going to have to deal with the fallout."I'm bored, what can I say. Saying things that'll have Mela asking you about what I meant for weeks is a hilarious idea."

"I'm going to return the favour with this little one eventually."

"Sure you will. I have expected that ever since I found out I was pregnant." She knew that Simon was going to enjoy getting her back for all the problems that she'd caused over the years.

"We're good siblings you know. I suppose I should go rescue Jon from my girls and let you get some sleep, I'll bring mom round tomorrow."

"Thanks, Si." She smiled and accepted the hug off her brother. She just couldn't quite believe that Jon had pulled this all off on his own. He'd never been good at organising surprises, and she had only been sure he'd organised things as a captain because he had a good crew. She was going to have to think of a way to thank him for this.


	22. Chapter 22

**Just a little bit of SassCaptains fluff... before the next chapter.  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>December 23rd 2161<strong>

Jon had managed to, successfully, do the bulk of his work within two hours of arriving at command. He'd asked his mom to take Erika's family on a tour of the city, so he and Erika could have a day in together. It made him feel better to know that she was ready to do that, and he was even happier that he'd done the work and so could take the day off. He could hear the news when he walked into the apartment, and just laughed at the shocked look Erika gave him when he made it into the bedroom. "What are you doing home?"

"Well, since I don't get tomorrow off with the testing of the sensor net, I decided I'd take today off to have a pre-Christmas rest with my wife." It was the truth, and she was clearly quite excited about the fact he was home. He was happy to be home too, because he hadn't spent anywhere near as much time with Erika as he wished he would have done.

"I'm not very good company right now." Erika commented, and Jon just didn't believe her. She was always good company to him, and that was what mattered to him the most. She was bored, he knew that, which was why he was trying to make it home as often as he could so that he could try and alleviate it. He probably failed more often than he succeeded, but he was trying.

There were things that Erika had done herself with people that she could tell him about. It was exciting to hear about even the most mundane of situations. "You can tell me what you did with Maria yesterday, you were sound asleep by the time I got in." She had slept like the dead, if it wasn't for Bunny kicking him most of the night he would have worried.

"You were sound asleep when I woke up." Erika replied and laughed as she did. They were both so worried about not speaking to each other that they tried to get a few minutes last thing at night. He couldn't blame her for teasing him about being asleep too.

"Touché." He chuckled, then started unzipping his uniform. He wasn't going to spend a day in bed with his wife while still wearing his very uncomfortable uniform. Especially given that Erika was going to be comfortable, she wanted to be comfortable. "Basically I want to spend a day with my very beautiful wife." He might as well creep as best he could.

"Maria helped me have a bath yesterday." Erika threw out, and Jon couldn't help but laugh a little. It was so out of the blue and unusual for her to just mumble something out like that. He was glad to see her do it.

He was glad that Erika was clearly feeling better. She hadn't wanted to get him to help her bath and shower, so it was good to know that she'd let Maria help her. The two of them had never been close, Jon remembered, but apparently both being parents was giving them something to bond over. "That's what you two did?"

"Hot chocolate, bath and _Love Actually_." That was currently Erika's favourite. She had always enjoyed it, and he remembered overhearing Erika, Veronica and AG once arguing about the best version. He remembered that AG had lost, that was about all there was left to that argument. It seemed to always be able to cheer her up.

"You watch that movie every Christmas." He laughed, because it was really nice for her to have that. While he didn't have a favourite movie the same way she did, he had the ones he liked the best.

"If you watch it you know you might enjoy it." Erika commented, and he wondered if that was more wishful thinking on her part than him actually enjoying something, but right now he'd give it a try and let her pick the movie, especially since it was something she enjoyed so much. He'd made her watch her fair share of his movies.

"So let me guess what your choice for a movie is today?" He asked, and Erika just started looking excited about the chance to show him the film. He was happy enough about it.

"You'll watch it? You've always avoided watching it with me." That was true, she'd been trying to make him watch it for years, and he was happy to make her day just by agreeing to watch the movie. It wasn't going to hurt him to do that.

So he was going to make sure that he kept this up, and he was sure he could find a silly or stupid movie to watch afterward to return it. It was certainly better than spending the whole time watching the news. They'd done that before, and argued with any Starfleet related story that came up. "Well, that was in the past, I get to pick a really bad comedy to watch though."

"Did you raid Trip's terrible movie collection again?" Erika laughed, and he couldn't help but be pulled back in, she had such an infectious laugh when she was in this mood. It was nice to be able to laugh about something together again, and he was so happy to be able to cheer Erika up even a little.

"Yeah, someone had to." He admitted, and he actually loved Trip's movie collections, and sharing most of Trip's taste meant that they could pick something they'd both enjoy. Finding something that Erika could enjoy too was much harder than that. But he'd still had fun raiding the movies. "It was fun."

"You and Trip have a terrible taste in movies." Erika was quite clearly judging him for his taste in movies, but she'd known he had bad taste all along. She was clearly just teasing him, since she was obviously in that kind of mood. "It's hilarious, but I rarely enjoy your movies."

He knew she didn't enjoy the films he'd pick. He was certain that he'd be able to find one that she would like, at least just for today. Maybe some of the more contemporary comedies. "I know, I'll try and find one you'll enjoy."

"You're a good husband, you know, at times." She muttered, and he finally got into his pyjamas and then climbed into the bed. He finally got to wrap himself up with Erika who looked up at her and kissed him hard, then carried on with what she was saying. "Not all the time, but sometimes."

"Ouch." He grinned, and let Erika snuggle into him a little more. Getting to lay down with her and just play stupid games with him.

Clearly Erika was a little concerned that he thought she was serious, because she tensed up slightly. "I'm teasing."

"I know." He kissed the top of her head and grinned.

"Oof." Erika made a very uncomfortable noise and shook her head. He wondered exactly what he'd done to cause that, or if it was the baby, or just generally her body rebelling. "The baby is trying to make me feel seasick, I swear." That answered the question.

Jon instead slipped round and started speaking to the bump, hoping that he could get the baby to calm down. "Hey, Bunny. Calm down. Your mommy and I need to chill out and try to watch a couple movies. Making her feel sick does not help."

"You know she only ever does this when you talk?" Erika ran her hand through his hair and smiled at him as he sat and spoke to the baby. This was one of his favourite positions to sit in, because hearing and feeling Bunny made him happier.

"Really?" He struggled to believe she reacted so well.

"Oh yeah, she seems to be really excited to hear her daddy." He put his ear back to her belly and smiled, listening to the sounds of everything there. "She is swimming around and around right now, I mean it's adorable but it's tiring."

He was sorry for that, because he really did think that Bunny needed to let Erika settle. She needed to relax and that included from an overactive foetus. "Come on Bunny. Daddy wants you to be calm. and quiet."

"She's been really active today in general." That was pretty usual for Bunny, Erika was often complaining about it. They were both paranoid when she wasn't active. They'd also both seemingly accepted that Bunny was a girl at this stage.

"That's a good sign, she's a happy and healthy baby." Erika grinned again, playing gently with one of his earlobes.

"Well, I'm not going to disagree with that. Mommy needs you to settle down a bit though Bunny, do like daddy says." He muttered to the bump again, hoping that she would soon enough settle properly.

"Come on Bunny. It's nearly Christmas." He was looking forward to Christmas this year, for the first time in a long time. "We're hoping to get lots of things ready for you in the next few days and then when you come along in a few weeks we'll be all ready for you."

Erika laughed again, and he heard Bunny start moving again. "That's going to be the goal for Christmas this year, isn't it?"

"Pretty much. Alright let's put this movie on." Jon climbed under the covers and wrapped his arms around her. He rested a hand on top of the bump and tried to will some calm onto their baby. Bunny was clearly excited about something, and what that was she didn't know. It was good to know that she was happy though, and comfortable. That was important right now. They both liked knowing that she was safe.


	23. Chapter 23

**And now... less fluffy.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>December 24th 2161<strong>

Erika had been uncomfortable all day, because with being in bed she didn't get to move. Today she was cramping badly, and they were coming and going in a pattern, that was not what she needed today. It hurt, and she was pretty sure she needed to see her OB. The problem was that she didn't want to admit that she needed help. "Aunt Erika, you OK?" Carla asked, clearly noticing that something wasn't right.

"Yeah, I'm just sore." She tried to play it off, not wanting to worry the teenager, but Carla wasn't a fool, and she wasn't as naive as Erika wished. She saw more and more of herself in Carla the older she got.

"Want me to get mom?" She asked, and while she still didn't want to admit it, her maternal instincts kicked in. She needed to focus on the baby, and making sure that Bunny was safe.

So, getting Maria in here was probably for the best. She knew that she was sat with Simon out in the living room, probably enjoying having a day where both the girls were in and out of her room, wanting to keep her company. Carla had been getting help on her language homework, but now that wasn't going to work right now. "Yeah, that might be an idea actually, Cam."

"Alright." Carla was up and out the door, but she could still hear the slightly panicked shout by her niece as she made it through to the living room. Carla knew more than she'd let on, she clearly hadn't wanted to worry Erika. "Mom! Aunt Erika needs you." A second later Maria was running into the room to check on her.

"Erika?" Maria asked as she skidded at the end of the bed then sat down next to her.

"I'm having pains, Mi." She said simply, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. It wasn't so easy to say what was happening. She wanted to bury her head in the sand and pretend nothing was happening and that the baby was fine and she was just uncomfortable.

"Again? How often?" Maria clearly understood immediately why she was afraid, and probably why she was trying to avoid admitting it was as serious as it was.

She hadn't kept count, because she didn't know what it was at first. She hadn't had many, but she'd had enough to be worried. "I've only had three or four, but they are really strong." They were really strong, unlike the ones she'd had with Hoshi. They had barely been anything. These were nothing like that. They were a lot stronger, and Bunny was unhappy with what was happening.

"Should I call your OB?" Maria asked, and Erika had to think for a minute. She wasn't supposed to be in this situation for weeks yes, but right now it looked like it was all happening long before she was planned.

All of that added together in her mind, and she knew that getting to the medical centre where she could be watched, and where they would make sure Bunny was OK was for the best. "I don't want to take any risks, call my OB then the paramedics."

"You want to go in?" Maria was clearly worried about the fact that Erika had decided that going into the medical centre. It was probably a little worrying, because all her life Erika had tried to avoid doctors and medics.

"The baby is my priority, and if she's struggling or in trouble then I want to be where they can help her straight away." She groaned as another pain came along and she tried to stop herself. It was more painful than the last one, and clearly Bunny wasn't enjoying them either by the thrashing around she was doing.

"How far along are you?" It was a reasonable question, but one Erika wasn't yet ready to answer, the pain was too much.

As the pain began to subside again she was able to speak again. She had to work out for a few minutes exactly how far along, which was luckily for her now into the last ten weeks. "Thirty weeks yesterday."

"That's good, thirty weekers do well." Maria reassured her, and it did actually help just a little.

Even though it helped a little, she was beginning to get afraid of what was possibly going to happen in the next few hours and days. "I'm scared."

"Want me to send Simon to get Jon?" At least Maria knew what would help her. Jon would be the support she needed, but she didn't want to interrupt him. She knew it was a busy day for him, and she wasn't sure if it was worth interrupting him just yet.

"No, he's got a busy day today. They are testing a new sensor net and he needs to be focused on that." It was her decision to keep it from him right now, maybe when they got to the medical centre they'd know whether or not the baby was going to be in trouble or not. "Let's wait until we know something about the baby."

"Probably a good choice. I'll be back with the paramedics." A second later Amelia stood in the doorway, and clearly Maria saw an opportunity to make sure that Erika wasn't alone. "Mela, keep your aunt Erika company for a minute."

She jumped up onto the bed, and Erika purposefully tried to look less in pain and afraid. Amelia was so young, and she really didn't need to know there was too much of a problem other than that her aunt needed to go to the hospital for a while. "Are you sick?"

"A bit, yes." She was honest to a point, but she wasn't going to let anyone else worry more than they needed to.

"Is that why you look scared?" So, Erika clearly hadn't hidden that as well as she thought. She didn't want to have to explain all this to Amelia, so maybe just making it out like she had a stomach ache. Either that or just distract her, because distracting Mela would also distract Erika.

"Yeah. Will you do me a favour, Mela? Could you pass me that book of pictures?" She smiled and pointed at the book that she'd been working on recently. It had baby pictures of all their family in it, and she'd even managed to add some of Jon and Maria too. It was all she'd been working on for the last few weeks.

"What is it?" Amelia asked as she picked it up and carried it over to the bed. The book was maybe a little bigger than she should have asked her niece to carry, but it was clear Amelia wanted to make sure Erika was distracted too.

"It's pictures of all the babies in our family." Erika opened the book on the page that was her parents, Albert and Lita Hernandez as babies, ranging from a few hours old to a few months.

"Is that abuela?" Amelia asked, pointing to the picture of Lita with a smile. There was a family resemblance that all the women in their family seemed to have that went back to Lita. Carla and Amelia both had it, and so did Erika. Not to mention many of their cousins.

But more than that, there was the page that was dedicated to Simon. Lots of baby pictures she'd managed to collect through the years of helping Lita clean out her storage. Erika had never been able to throw away pictures. "Want to see your daddy as a baby?"

"Can I?" Amelia asked with a smile on her face. It was obvious that she wanted to see the picture, and Erika had made sure to keep them as close to the front as she could.

"Sure, here you go. This is me, and this is your daddy." She point to each of them, Simon looked a lot grumpier than she did in almost every picture. He'd never liked having his picture taken, she had enjoyed it though. It probably went along with her enjoying to perform.

"He looks so little." Amelia muttered after a few minutes, smiling at the pictures.

She gritted her teeth, determined not to let any pain show. It wasn't going to help any of them when all that would really happen would be Amelia start panicking. "Hard to believe he was ever that little isn't it?" She asked with as even a voice as she could manage.

"Yeah." Amelia replied, just sitting and looking at the book, flicking through the pages as she did. Erika was glad that she was distracted, as it was harder to hide her pain now as it just kept getting worse.

A second later Maria came back in the room and stroked Amelia's head before pushing her gently out of the room. "Rike, the paramedics are here, and your OB is going to meet us at the medical centre." That was good news. Clearly something had made Maria take her seriously enough to just do as she'd asked rather than arguing and saying that everything was going to be perfectly all right.

Erika smiled as two paramedics made it into the room, either having recognised her name or having been told her rank by Simon, who had no doubt filled in a lot of the blanks on the way through the building. "How are you doing Captain? How far along are you?"

"Thirty plus one." She answered, letting them get to work taking her vitals and checking on everything else. She was just afraid now, but knowing there was someone there who could pay attention to her and make sure the baby was OK was helping her a little. "I've been on bed rest for two weeks since my last scare."

"We'll take you in and get you all buffed up. Make sure you and your baby are both healthy." That was all she wanted. While she was worried about the baby, and about everything that was going on, she just wanted this all to be OK, and she still couldn't shake the idea that she was worrying for no reason.

"Thanks, I'm probably worrying for no reason."

The paramedics both smiled and shifted her onto the bed they'd brought through with them. They then looked around who was in the room and focused on Maria. "Let's get you checked out, is your sister-in-law coming with you?"

"Yes. Simon, if you look in my contact book for Faisa she'll watch the girls, then can you go get Jon?" She gave up with her policy not to contact Jonathan until she knew. She wanted him with her.

"Of course. I'll say a prayer Rike, then bring Jon. Love you." Simon kissed her forehead and frowned. It wasn't really the best of all situations, and this time she didn't have the strength to tell herself that everything was going to be alright this time. Now she didn't have that option, and she'd just have to prepare for whatever was coming. Good or bad.


	24. Chapter 24

**Simon finds Jon.  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>December 24th 2161<strong>

Today just seemed like a bad day all round. Despite spending yesterday off with Erika, he'd woken up this morning on the opposite to the 'good mood' he'd fallen asleep in. Mostly because today he didn't want to work, but outside of some parts of Starfleet, Christmas Eve was not a special day, so them working on the sensor net upgrades had happened and he'd had to be there despite not wanting to be here. He was just wishing for an interruption when Kit knocked on the door and looked through. "Admiral."

"I'm in the middle of something, Kit." He started, purely because he wanted to make it seem like he was going to stay no matter what.

"Sorry sir. It's an emergency." Kit started, and Jon was a little angry at himself and was just glad to get out of this room. He couldn't cope with spending hours more sat in one room looking at the same results. He just hoped the emergency wasn't terrible.

But as soon as someone said those magic words, 'emergency' he had a reason to get away from the results. But he needed the report to read eventually. "Someone forward me the report."

"Sure, Jon." He heard echoed as he dodged around the table and out the door. He smiled as he did then looked back at Kit and shut the door starting back to his office.

"What's going on Kit." He asked, allowing her to lead the way and started walking through the offices. He hated the fact that he had been that desperate to get out of one stupid meeting he had wished for an emergency.

Kit looked seriously, but she didn't really know everything that was going on. Then she nodded toward the main entrance and frowned. "Your brother-in-law is here. There's been a problem."

"What problem?" A problem that had lead to Simon being sent to Starfleet meant that it was almost certainly a problem with Erika. He would continue to be as worried about Erika as was possible until he came.

"I don't know details." Kit said, clearly looking worried.

"Thanks Kit. I'll let you know what's going on." He smiled to his aide, then started walking toward the exit where he could see Simon hovering. If his brother in law had come to see him without prompting there was probably something serious going on. "Simon."

"We need to get over to the med centre. Now." That didn't sound good, but Jon followed him exactly as fast as he could. Simon sounded serious, and that made him realise that this was something to do with Erika.

So since they were all walking fast, he was going to try and get it out of Simon on the way. "Why?"

Simon stopped, and Jon came to a halt a few steps on. Then he started looking serious on the next minute. "Erika started having pains late this morning. Called her OB and the paramedics who took her in." She'd been taken into the med centre. For some reason it made him feel much worse. "I had to sort out someone to watch the girls since both our mothers have taken a shopping trip somewhere."

"Is she OK?" He asked, he didn't care about their mothers doing something, but he did care about Erika being rushed into the med centre.

"She was fine last I spoken to her." Simon wouldn't lie about that to him, just as Jon wouldn't lie to him about Erika's situation either. It was a horrible situation and now Jon was almost running. "Maria went in with her."

He considered stopping for a second and looked at the cars. A few seconds later he shook his head and started talking to himself. "It'll be faster to walk through than anything."

"This isn't exactly walking." Thankfully Simon kept up with him and other than sarcastic comments he didn't say anything disparaging, which was a new situation for Jon. He was too used to Simon making scathing comments about what he was doing.

Skidding into the main entry of the hospital he knew that he needed to ask there where Erika was. He just wanted to find his wife and make sure she and their baby were OK. "I'm looking for my wife, Erika Hernandez."

"Maternity. Third floor." The nurse pointed to the turbolifts. A second later the lift hadn't come fast enough for him, so he started looking around. Knowing he needed to be on the third floor before he did anything else.

He glared at the lifts and shook his head. "That was helpful. I'll take the stairs."

"Archer you're trying to kill me!" Simon shouted and hissed, it was obvious that he was angry about having to keep up, but Jon was just in better shape than his brother-in-law with a better reason to be running through the hospital as fast as he could.

"Not intentionally, I just want to find my wife."

Minutes later he made it to the third floor, and he skidded to a stop at the nurses' station. The nurse who was there looked up at him seriously and smiled, clearly trying to be polite. "Can I help you?"

"My wife was brought in, Erika Hernandez. She's 30 weeks." He waited as the nurse started looking through things, but he was impatient and ended up pacing anyway.

"Jon, Simon."

"Maria?" Simon said, and they both ran to her leaving the nurse at her computer alone.

"She's in room three." Maria's voice was trembling, and Jon just stood in front of her blinking slowly. The way Maria was standing, talking, he knew something serious had happened. After a few seconds she looked again and sighed. "Jon - She had the baby about fifteen minutes ago."

"It's too soon, isn't it?" He asked, but it was clear that nobody actually wanted to answer him. Nobody wanted to say that the baby had come early.

Instead, Simon just clapped him on the shoulder and frowned. There was nothing but compassion in the other man's face. It was obvious now that they all felt worried about Erika and the baby. "You should go in and see Erika, Jon."

He just nodded, and took the advice, turning to Erika's room. The second he was through the door he ended up running straight to the bed and kissing her, then resting his forehead against hers. "Don't cry, Rike." That was all he could think to say and ran his fingers under her eyes to remove the tears.

"I couldn't stop it Jon. They couldn't stop." She muttered quietly, then wrapped her arms around him tighter. He was sorry that she was so sad, and that she was taking so much of this on her shoulders. It wasn't her fault that this had happened, no more than it was the baby's fault too.

All he could do was keep holding onto Erika and reassuring her that it wasn't her fault. "Maria said. What did we have?" He wanted to know what details she might have about the baby, but given the time and how fast it had happened he wasn't sure how much she'd know.

"You were right all along, she's a little girl." Erika smiled a little, and he pulled her back and kissed her again. He was a little excited about the fact he had a daughter, but he also knew there was no chance he could actually do anything to help her. "They didn't tell me much." She ended up telling him with a frown.

"Feeling OK now?" He had to ask, he was sure she wasn't feeling the best she ever had, but at least he could maybe help her feel a little better. He was sorry that he hadn't been there for her all along.

"Tired, scared." She yawned a little, and he just held her hand and smiled, trying to keep a really positive outlook.

At that moment the door opened, and a familiar face he hadn't seen in years came through the years. Elizabeth Cutler had been one of his hand-picked science officers, and he was proud she was here now. She wasn't looking up at all until she got into the room properly. "Mrs. Hernandez, oh." She stopped in her tracks and smiled slightly, looking between him and Erika. "Captain, Admiral. Hi."

"Crewman?" He asked. He'd just had to ask why she was here. He knew she was in med school, he'd followed her schooling as best he could.

"Just doctor, now, sir. I'm the fellow looking after your daughter." That explained why she was here to talk to them. She sat on the end of Erika's bed and looked between the two of them who were going to end up hooked on her every word now until they knew about their daughter. "She's on a ventilator, but she's doing well already. She's moving all her extremities and her lungs look great. You'll be able to visit her in a couple of hours." There was a genuine smile from Cutler, which added extra confidence to what Jon was thinking.

"She really looks good?" Erika asked, looking like it was too much for her to think about things going well at this point.

"She looks great. I've never been able to lie to you sir, you know that. It's early days, but we'll all do our best to help her through it."

"Thank you." He said then kissed Erika's cheek.

"Does she have a name?" Cutler asked with another smile, she was clearly confident about how well the baby was doing if she was asking for the name.

Erika was the first one to speak, giving the name they'd chosen more than a decade earlier, the names had never changed in their minds. "Serena. Serena Veronica Archer."

"I'll add it to her records." There was a mark made on the PADD and he was happy to know that Erika had given the name immediately. It had been a plan, but they had just called the baby 'Bunny' for so long he'd almost forgotten they'd picked names. "I'll come see you soon, both of you, and give you an update on Serena."

"Thanks." They both said, Erika was still looking a little worried but he was listening to Cutler, and believing that things were going to be OK. As soon as Cutler left the room he turned back to Erika and kissed her hard.

"She's OK, Rike. She's OK." He wrapped his arms around her and held her as tightly as he could. Hearing a little bit of news about the baby, and knowing that she was doing as well as could be expected right now made him happy. It was still scary, knowing that she had come so early and that she still had such a long way to come. Clearly, Serena had just wanted to be here for Christmas after all.


	25. Chapter 25

**Let's all meet baby Serena, huh?  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>December 24th 2161<strong>

She was dreaming, and there was something warm and comforting about this dream. She wasn't sure what it was, but something was calming about what she was experiencing and it was making her feel a little more comfortable than before. She was half awake now, but she desperately wanted to go back to sleep. Unfortunately Jon was making that hard, because he was sitting and stroking her hand. "Erika, wake up, Cutler is here."

"What? Is everything alright? Did something happen?" She jolted awake fully at that point, worrying straight away that something had happened to Serena. It had only been a couple of hours, but all she'd done was sleep and worry.

"No, there's no change." Cutler smiled and held a hand up to stop her from worrying. That was exactly what she needed, just someone telling her that it was OK to be absolutely terrified but that everything was going fine. "Are you ready to meet your daughter?"

"She's OK for that?" Jon asked, looking serious. It was good to know that they'd both had the same thought. Checking that it was alright that Serena had visitors now. It seemed like they'd only just been told that she was alright.

Cutler just smiled and nodded, and Erika had to wonder if she'd made sure she was Serena's doctor. With her loyalty to Jon it wasn't a bad thing, and it actually made Erika feel just a little more secure in how Serena was. "Yes. She's in an incubator, she's small and she's still on the vent. But she's doing great and I think she'll be happy to hear her parents." Erika sat up and pulled her dressing gown toward her, not wanting to be too cold on the way to the NICU.

"Let's go meet her." Jon muttered then helped her stand up. She was glad he was there to support her. After weeks of barely moving and hardly being able to sit up it was hard to walk. He wrapped his arm around her and held her tight.

"I can't believe we're doing this Jon." It was too hard for her to believe that they were going to see their daughter in a few minutes. "Let's go." Erika said, shuffling along as her unused legs got used to bearing weight again. It seemed like a long time since she'd wandered around like this.

As they entered the NICU, Cutler stopped them both and smiled. "You have as long as you want, we'll set you up in a side room with her tonight so one of you can stay." She motioned to a room at the back she could see that was currently empty. If they were going to be able to stay with Serena and that was important, so it was nice to see they could accommodate either her or Jon staying with their daughter.

"That's nice, thank you." Jon apparently was thinking the same as her. Not all that surprising given that they normally thought similar things.

"You're a VIP, so you get the side room." There was quite obviously a good tease there, and Erika was glad about that. It once again made things seem better, or easier, for her. "Serena is the only baby on the ward who doesn't need constant watching. For a thirty-weeker she's very strong, you were doing well Captain." That praise was both something Erika was grateful for, and something that hurt a little bit.

"Do you know why I went into labour?" She had to ask, just in case someone had discovered why any of this had happened when she'd been so careful. They started walking toward a corner again, and she was glad to see that the baby they were heading toward was kicking around.

Cutler shook her head and reached out and rubbed Erika's arm in a calming way, and Jon just held her tighter. "Sometimes it just happens, your hormone levels are a little low so that probably caused it." That was at least a reason, and that helped her understand that maybe, just maybe, this wasn't all her fault. "The important thing is that Serena is safe. Here she is." They stopped at the incubator, and she could see that Serena was moving about freely and happily.

"Hey Bunny." Jon muttered as they got there. He was clearly completely captivated by looking at the little one. Erika could hardly believe she was there, in front of them. It was a dream come true after everything they had been through since they'd met. Seeing who they'd created together, and how she looked. "When will we be able to hold her?" Jon asked a second later, and Erika only just realised that maybe they wouldn't be able to hold Serena just yet.

"Maybe in a few days, we need to make sure that she doesn't have any infections and that she can fight infections." Cutler looked seriously at her.

"That's a good reason, can we touch her?" Erika wanted to at least be able to touch her daughter, feel her moving around and know that she was OK. It was terrifying to be in here, and to know that she was gonna be spending time with them.

"Of course, that's what these holes are for." Cutler demonstrated, and Erika was glad to see that Serena reacted straight away to someone touching her. That had to be a good sign. "I'll leave you to get to know her."

Cutler walked away and Erika leant over the bed. Looking down at Serena. Even in the tiny little thing all Erika could see was Jon. She had his nose, and hair colour. For some reason she had imagined that the baby would have dark hair, so seeing that she was more a dark blonde was a surprise. "She's perfect, Rike. Look at her." Jon whispered, then pulled her closer to him.

"She is." She had to agree, then looked to the side and kissed his cheek before looking back at Serena. Next to both their hands she was tiny, barely big enough to believe she was real. She'd known that babies were small, but this small was news to her. "She's so small."

"I'm so proud of you, and of you little one." He squeezed her gently then looked back down at Serena.

"You just had to be here for Christmas, didn't you Bunny?" It was clear that the little girl had made it just in time for Christmas. It meant that they'd have a lot to do over the next few days, including celebrate. She wasn't really feeling it just yet. "Are Simon and Maria still here?"

Jon shook his head, and really Erika couldn't blame them. They didn't want to wait round here all day when there was no guarantee they'd have somewhere to stay. "No, they went to go tell mom and Lita and the girls that the baby is here."

"She shouldn't be, but I have to admit I don't miss bed rest." That seemed like a bad thing to say, but while she was terrified about Serena being here too early, she had been desperate to start moving around again, and it was far too hard for her to imagine going back to staying in bed.

"You're able to move again and Bunny is doing OK." Jon grinned, and Serena took hold of his hand tightly, making her smile at the two of them even as her fear took over.

She shook her head because she didn't really want to believe that Serena was OK, because things could go wrong. That was her worst case scenario, and she needed to keep not thinking about that. "There's a long way to go, Jonathan." She had to caution, because she didn't want him to start getting his hopes up too.

"What happened to the wife who wanted me to be a lot more optimistic?" Jon asked, quite obviously teasing her. She didn't blame him for that at all, because for the last several years she'd been trying as hard as she could to convince him to look more on the upside.

There was only one answer to that, but she wanted to address it to Serena, rather than see Jon get upset about what she'd say. She knew that he'd get upset too. "She went into labour at 30 weeks and had a premie."

"Rike, she is doing fine, you heard that." Jon reassured her, and rested his forehead against the side of her head, much as he regularly had done whenever she'd been struggling and having a problem. It was the easiest way to calm her sometimes, right now she just needed his support. "It's scary, I'm scared too, but let's try to be positive."

"I'll try. I love you." It was lovely to know that she and Serena would have Jon's support no matter what, and that being positive was something here that had come from her.

"I know, I love you too." She cuddled into his side, glad when he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Serena was perfect, and exactly what she'd hoped. It was just scary, being in this room with all the truly sick babies around. She knew that there was a chance that Serena would be fine, and that she'd come through this without a problem, but there was something in Erika's mind that wouldn't let her think about the positives though. She'd let Jon be optimistic for the both of them, this time at least.


	26. Chapter 26

**So, I'm a fucking cock-up and accidentally uploaded THE ENTIRE STORY instead of this chapter ... twice. Whoops. So if you got the email and though "HOW DID SHE WRITE A 24K WORD CHAPTER?" that's how. Anyway. I'm sorry for that. Here is ACTUAL chapter 26.  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>December 25th, 2161<strong>

Jon hadn't really been sure what he was doing this morning, he'd just needed to get away. Erika had spent the night on the OB floor, while he'd slept in Serena's room. Luckily the baby had been fine all through the night, and this morning she'd seemed a little better. That could have been his own wishful thinking though, but maybe he would just keep wishing for all of the best for Serena. It wasn't until he arrived at Trip and Hoshi's front door that he realised where he'd been walking. He knocked on the door and tried to put on a smile before Hoshi answered the door a second later. "Merry Christmas."

"What are you doing here?" Hoshi asked with a smile and let him through the door, he ended up sitting on the sofa and smiled back, trying not to let them know that there was anything wrong with him. "Trip, Jon's here." She shouted, and a second later Trip bounded through the doorway.

Jon smiled at them both and then pulled out the PADD he'd managed to put the pictures of Serena on, handing it to Trip. "I wanted to come tell you, Erika had the baby yesterday."

"How are they?" Trip asked first, grinning. It was obvious that he was happy to see that there was another little one in the world. They knew that Erika hadn't been due, and Hoshi looked as concerned as Jon felt.

"Erika's good." He was happy with that, because he'd been worried she wouldn't be as good as she ended up. This morning when she'd been brought in to the hospital she held on to Jon's hand until he'd said he was going to head home. So she was sat at the hospital with Serena. "She was discharged this morning and is in the NICU with Serena right now."

"Serena? So she was a she?" Trip carried on, and Hoshi was just obviously looking and following the conversation, but she was just concerned. Quite obviously it was worrying for her, being a mother herself, to know what had happened here.

He kept his eyes on the PADD though, just wanting to look at Serena. Whichever people were trying to help her and look after her would make sure that she'd survive and be happy. That was the important thing for him, that she was OK. "Yeah. She's a she."

"But, Jon?" Hoshi finally spoke, making sure that Jon knew she was on his side and wanting to know how his girls were doing. She was looking ridiculously worried about this, and he wanted to try and reassure her as best he could. But he was also scared.

"She's in the NICU, and she's so tiny." The tiny baby that he called his daughter, and she was minute. He knew from his walks through the NICU that she was hardly the smallest baby in there, but to him she seemed so much smaller than that. Maybe because she was his, and for the rest of her life he was going to be responsible for her. "Barely bigger than my hands."

"She was at 30 weeks. They normally do well." Hoshi reassured him, and that was exactly what he had needed. Someone to just sit and tell him that everything was OK. That they were doing well.

"Generally, yeah." He nodded, not at all ready to admit that it still wasn't a guarantee that Serena would be alright.

At that moment a ball of dark-haired energy ran into the room and launched herself into Jon's arms. It was a lot harder for him to try and wallow in self-pity when Toshiko had decided it was time for him to know she was still there. "Uncle Jon!"

"Hey Toshie!" He smiled and gave her a bigger hug. He was reminded that good outcomes did happen. He had needed to be reminded that in a few years this was how Serena could be greeting him. That was a happier thought, and he was much happier to think of it that way.

"Merry Christmas." Tosh shrilled, and all three adults in the room collectively winced. Tosh had a talent at knowing exactly how high-pitched she could go to thoroughly annoy the adults she was with. It was quite a skill and he was sure she practiced on her parents.

Hoshi clearly realised that he wasn't quite done wallowing, and also that it wasn't really the topic that the toddler needed to hear. "Tosh, go play with your cousins."

"OK" Tosh said, kissing Jon's cheek then managed to shimmy to the floor and ran away into the other room. All he could do was look between his friends and wonder which cousins they had.

"We have Philip's kids here while he and Lynda are on a cruise." Trip supplied a second later and suddenly Jon understood. Much like Erika and Simon, Trip and his brother had gotten closer now they were adults. Probably their sisters' death would have led to the Tucker brothers' reconnecting too.

"That's good." He muttered, feeling a little distracted again as he accepted the PADD back and looked at Serena. He still struggled to believe that was his daughter.

As usual, Trip realised that Jon was suddenly feeling miserable again. "Jonathan, what's wrong?" He tried to think of a way to explain what was his problem that wouldn't make him sound horrifically self-centred. Given how much Erika had given to him over the years, all the confidence and support she had extended to him without being asked at all. He actually felt guilty that right now he couldn't do the same for her, but she hadn't asked him either, and she probably didn't expect it. He still felt like he should do it, because she needed the support.

"I've been trying to be so positive around Erika, not letting her see how scared I actually am that Serena won't make it through this." He was sure she would, but he was still afraid that she wouldn't sometimes. There was no reason she wouldn't make it through, but if she didn't he wanted to be able to comfort his wife. Right now though, he needed to keep the faith that Serena would be fine. "But that's making it harder than I expected to get through all of this."

"Is Erika not helping?" Hoshi asked, and Jon just shook his head. He was sure she would if she could bring herself to believe that things would go the way they wanted.

"She doesn't want to think that things are OK." She closed off, it was how she protected herself. He'd seen her do this a dozen times, and every time he'd had to try and figure out a way to break through her walls. "I know her, and if she tells herself things are going to be fine and they aren't she'd never get over it. We already lost one child, I don't think she'd make it through another." The circumstances were completely different. This time they knew Serena, had seen her develop through scans and even now she had a personality, at barely 24 hours old. Last time the baby was more of an idea.

"That's not going to happen, I'm sure Bunny will be fine." Trip was the one comforting him this time. Trip was the one who understood how afraid Jon was from his perspective. Trip had lost a daughter too. It wasn't really fair that Jon was bringing all that back up.

But he couldn't stop, and he certainly wasn't in a position to pretend nothing was bothering him. "I keep telling myself that, but when you're in that room and you're looking at her in that incubator, you can't really believe anything." He had laid there the night before and learnt how hard being in that room actually was. He'd never known before. "That makes it hard to talk yourself into believing that she is going to make it."

"I bet, but Jonathan, you and Erika have survived everything. The Expanse, the Orions, the War." Hoshi smiled and sat down beside him, wrapping her arm around his shoulder and squeezing him in a supportive manner. "I'm sure that Serena will have inherited that from the two of you."

"That's what I'm hoping." He admitted, and right now hope was really all he could do. "She's going to be fine, isn't she?" He asked, just needing to ask that question, even if nobody knew the answer just now.

"She is." Trip said decisively, and that really didn't give Jon anything he could argue against again. Not that he necessarily wanted to do. Trip wasn't going to let it go with just something simple. He'd have to back up his point, and for the first time in a while Jon didn't mind that. "The Archer's and the Hernandez's are strong, Serena will have a lot of reserve that you can deal with."

"You're right. I should go home and talk to the family." He wasn't necessarily looking forward to that, but it needed to be done. Especially since his five minute conversation with Simon indicated they may go back to New Mexico soon. "They are planning to go home in a couple of days. Give Erika and I time to bond with Serena."

Hoshi nodded understandably while Trip sat forward and smirked, catching Toshiko as she ran back into the room at full speed. "You can always see them again when Serena is discharged."

"Thanks, both of you." Jon was truly grateful that his friends had given him the space to break down and begin to work everything out in his mind. It was only going to be good for him, and for his new family. "I'll bring Tosh's present when I get the chance."

"Sure, anytime." Trip said, picking Toshiko up and standing up, offering a hand to Jon to help him off the sofa. "And congratulations, dad."

"Tell us when Serena is ready for visitors, we'll come and meet her." Hoshi grinned, then gave him a tight hug.

"Of course, we want you to be her godparents? I hope you'll say yes."

"We're honoured. See you soon." Jon smiled to show himself out, not wanting to disrupt his friends' Christmas any more than he already had. He also knew that at home, their family would be waiting for news, and he needed a change of clothes and so did Erika. It was going to be some time before there was a new normal begun in their lives, but it was important that he try to focus on the positive things, and just be aware of the negative possibilities. He needed to be confident, and trust the doctors to do the best for Serena.


	27. Chapter 27

**A few days skipped here, but New Years brings a few changes already.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>December 31st 2161January 1st 2162**

Erika hadn't been home in almost a week, because she'd lived on the ward and hated that this was necessary. This afternoon Jon had convinced her that it was time she take a break and go home. Take a shower and change. A few days earlier she'd even said goodbye to her family in the hospital cafeteria rather than at home. She just hadn't wanted to be away from Serena for any length of time. She trusted Jon to call her if anything happened, and therefore she'd decided that going home wasn't that much of a problem. Coming back she was glad to see Jon sat in the same position as she'd left him, gently talking to Serena. No doubt telling her that it was late, and very soon they would be seeing in a New Year. It was already 11pm. "Hey, I brought you a bag. Hello baby, did you behave for daddy?"

"Of course she did, she was an angel. Feel better now?" Jon asked with a smile, and it was suddenly obvious that he'd been worried about her. Probably because she hadn't relaxed at all since Serena had arrived. It worked the best for her sometimes, because Jon would look out for her when she wasn't looking out for herself.

She had relaxed too, and it had been nice to calm about it. "I got to lie in the tub with that Andorian Ice-Chime Music Shran sent you. It's surprisingly relaxing." She hadn't expected it to be anywhere near as relaxing as it had been given the fact she wasn't sure that Shran had ever relaxed a day in his life.

"I might try that next time I'm home." Jon smiled then nodded to Serena who was obviously wide awake. "She's been awake a lot today." He commented, and Erika was happy to hear that. Surely Serena being awake most of the day was a good sign and she was getting here.

"That's a good sign isn't it? You're getting bigger." She smiled, looking down at Serena again. It was good to see the little brown eyes. As Erika was looking at her Serena looked up and then started squirming in a way Erika had come to realise meant she was happy to hear her parents. "Can you believe it's been a week?" She raised her eyes back to meet Jon's, and noticed his wide grin too.

"Not at all. She's doing so well." He replied, pulling her to sit on his knee. She was quite happy to do that right now, as it meant she could keep looking at Serena too. It was nice to be able to sit in such a position.

"She is doing really well." Came another voice, breaking them both of the bubble they'd been in, where they could forget everything around them and focus on their little family. Cutler clearly noticed she'd taken them by surprise a second later as she looked between them then smiled. "Sorry to interrupt. I was wondering if maybe one of you would like to hold her? She's got a good immune system, and hasn't had a single infection." Erika had learnt enough about their situation to know that was a good thing. "She's also started breathing over the vent so we're lowering the pressure again."

"That's all good news, isn't it?" Jon asked, he hadn't grasped the details of the situation quite as easily as she had, and so liked to double check that he'd understood things.

Cutler just smiled and nodded. Giving them both the pickup they'd needed. Erika was happy to know that it really was the good news she'd hoped for. "It's great news. So, Captain, are you ready to hold your daughter?" In among everything else, she'd missed the offer to hold her daughter. It was something she'd been hoping and praying for for the last week, and it was too hard to believe that she was actually going to be able to do that now.

"Can I really hold her?" She asked, absolutely certain that she was being ridiculous. Cutler wouldn't have told her that she could if it wasn't something that she could actually do.

"Sure. Sandy, can you bring the rocker over here for Captain Hernandez." Cutler said to one of the nearby nurses, who dragged the rocker into the room and smiled before leaving. Erika got up off of Jon's knee and shook her head, looking at Cutler.

"At this point you can just call me Erika, you all see me every day." It was weird to still be going by her rank to those she saw all the time.

"OK then. Erika. Take a seat in the rocker." Erika did as she was told and sat right back, grinning as the tubes that were keeping Serena breathing properly were draped over her arms. A second later Serena was laid in her arms and the tubes were all reconnected. "Here. Keep hold of the tube. There we go."

"Hi there, Bunny. It's Mommy." She muttered to her daughter, rocking slowly then looking up at Jon with a grin. She noticed only a second later that Cutler had made her way slowly out of the room, probably to fetch something to help, or just to get on with another part of her job.

Jon was watching the two of them with a grin on his face, and Erika couldn't help but return it brightly. A minute later he pulled the camera out and held it up. "Let me take some pictures." He laughed, then stood up and started taking pictures.

Erika used that as the distraction she needed to just focus again on her daughter, it was nice to be able to sit there and see everything they hoped for reflected back at her in two dark eyes set in a tiny face. "Hey we might be able to feed you soon, and give you a bath. Eventually we'll be able to take you home and you can meet your very large extended family." Their extended family was huge, largely because of everything they did in Starfleet and the fact they had been Captains. Their crews had become their families, and that didn't stop just because they weren't in command any more.

"It's a huge family Bun." Jon clearly followed her line of thinking as he came to sit back on his chair, obviously having taken all the photographs he'd wanted to for that minute in time. "You'll never run out of people to play with." That was also true, she already knew that Toshiko was looking forward to Serena being big enough to play, and she was sure Carla and Amelia would be happy too. Not to mention the multitude of other children of _Enterprise_ and _Columbia_ crewmen.

"All we need is for you to keep getting healthier and healthier." She muttered, just looking at Serena who had kept her eyes firmly on her mothers' face. She knew that right now she couldn't necessarily see her mother clearly, but it made her feel like Serena was interested in everything she was saying. "So that's your job, OK. Mommy and daddy will do everything they can to ensure you're happy, you have to work on being healthy.

"I love this, seeing my two girls sat like this." Jon said a few minutes later, just looking at them seriously, and she was so happy that they had gotten this far. It was an amazing time, because she had never thought they'd make it.

"I love you." She replied, unexpectedly. She hadn't intended to tell him that right now, but it seemed like the perfect time to say it. As she sat there watching Serena she realised it wasn't fair of her to keep Serena all to herself. "Do you want to have a turn?"

Jon looked surprised, and Erika was glad he was surprised. "Are you ready to let her go?" He asked, and she had to admit that letting Serena go wasn't necessarily high on her list of things that she wanted to do, but she also wanted to see Jon bonding with their little one too.

"No, but I want to see you holding her too. Get as many pictures as we can." Being honest seemed like it was the best way to go. So she stood up, careful to mind Serena's tubes as she did. That was all she needed to do. As soon as she did she motioned to Jon. "Sit down." As soon as he did she handed Serena over to him. Her arms felt strangely empty as soon as she did, but it was worth it as she saw the awed smile across his face.

"She's so tiny." He whispered reverentially a few minutes later, and Erika laughed, picking up the camera and taking as many pictures as she could. She was happy to see Jon looking the way he did, so awed and happy. Whatever was still stuck in his mind from the last few years that he thought he'd lost, clearly holding Serena he had it all back.

She wasn't going to comment on that though. She was just going to let him know that after they were sorted, and maybe once they'd taken Serena home. She was the tiniest little thing Erika had ever seen, but she was also perfect. "I know. She's got such a strong grip though." Erika smiled as Serena grabbed onto one of Jon's fingers the same way she had when her mom had been holding her.

"Just like mommy, aren't you Bun. You want to let everyone know what you think." That was probably going to be true. Their mothers had enjoyed telling stories about what they'd both been like as babies, according to Sally, Jon had been a very quiet baby. Lita had been sure to tell everyone that Erika had never shut up. "As soon as that tube is out you know she'll never shut up. Your mom said you were a gurgler."

"Yeah, apparently I always had a sound to make, pretty much from birth." She grinned, remembering the teasing Jon had given her after he'd heard that story. Not that she could blame him entirely. "Even when I was asleep. It wouldn't surprise me if Bunny is the same."

"Have you noticed the bump name has carried on?" Jon said suddenly, and that was when she realised that for the last week they'd carried on calling Serena 'Bunny' rather than her name. Erika wasn't too sorry about that though. She quite liked it as a family nickname for her daughter, much like only family were allowed to call her 'Rike'.

"I think we'll always call her Bunny now." The fact that the nickname had started so early into her pregnancy also made her think that it was going to stick. "She's been Bunny almost as long as we've known she existed."

Jon nodded, then kissed his daughter's forehead. Erika was glad she still had hold of the camera to get that moment on film. That was going to be a picture Erika would treasure forever. "It's a good nickname. It suits her."

"This means I'm going to dress her as a Bunny next Christmas." She couldn't help it, but that would be both cute and the best joke given her nickname. Jon looked at her judgmentally, and she had to laugh and finish her thought. "Ears and everything."

"She's going to hate the nickname as she gets older." He observed, and Erika was absolutely certain that he was correct.

Not that it mattered to her right now, or probably ever. "Probably, but that won't stop me."

"Me either." Jon admitted, and she was just a little annoyed that he'd made out like she'd be the only one calling her 'Bunny'.

"She looks like she's tiring out, and we should be happy she made it this long." She smiled, noticing Serena starting to fall asleep. She looked up at that moment and realised that it was about to be the new year, so she drew Jon's attention to it and smiled. "The clock is about to strike."

"It is. Bunny it's your first New Year." He looked down at the baby in his arms again, and Erika took to kneeling on the floor in front of him so they could all be involved in this moment.

Less than a minute later the nearby clock tower struck midnight, and the sound of fireworks started going off all around the hospital. Erika was just happy to know the last year was behind them, and so she looked up and grinned at Jon. "Happy New Year, Jonathan."

"I love you." He leant forward to kiss her gently. She couldn't believe they had made it this far. It seemed like a dream. It was a new year, and there were new chances and new struggles facing all of them. Not least of all, facing Serena. She seemed to be growing so well and Erika was beginning to let herself hope. She'd tried to avoid hope as much as she could, not wanting to risk being disappointed again. Serena seemed to be coming through any problem that was asked of her, and that gave Erika cause to be optimistic. Or maybe Jon was rubbing off on her.


	28. Chapter 28

**Hoshi gets to meet Serena.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>January 3rd 2162<strong>

Just as he had every morning for the last 10 days Jonathan Archer walked into the small side room where Erika and Serena were living and smiled at the two most important people in his life. He was glad to see that Serena was once again out of her incubator and cuddling with his wife. Erika looked quite content as she carried on singing the rest of the nursery rhyme to Serena. As soon as she'd finished he leant over the back of the rocking chair and kissed her cheek then tickled Serena's feet. "How are my girls today?"

"We're not doing badly." Erika answered with a smile, and he was glad to see that she was looking happier today too. She'd been slipping back and forth between hopeful and guarded, which he knew was a good way to be, but today she seemed more decisive, and much happier.

"She's sat out again?" He hadn't expected to see Serena out of her incubator so early today, but he was glad she was out, and for the first time she had a little onesie on, clearly because they'd found one that had snaps on the arms as well as the legs so they could put it on around all her various wires.

Jon was unsurprised when Erika went back to looking at Serena, despite it being more than a week since the birth, neither one of them had quite gotten used to the fact she was finally here. "Yeah, she's been reaching out a little more since yesterday." Jon had been happy when Serena had started reaching out at the sound of Erika's voice, and calming almost instantly when Erika spoke to her, or sung to her. "Then she was getting fussy so I decided to give her a cuddle after she was changed."

"That's good, I mean it means she responds to your voice, right." He'd seen that much, Serena was always happier, and calmer, when Erika was talking to her than she was the rest of the time. It was good to know, for him, that she was well enough to do that.

"I think so. I'm not sure." He could understand why Erika would think that, but she didn't see the way Serena reacted to her from the outside. It was instinctual, and Jon was sure it came from being the voice Serena had heard the most. "She's only ten days old, how old are babies normally when they do that. I think surely it's more smell at this age."

"Maybe. Has Cutler been by today?" There were questions they needed to ask, and she probably had things to tell them too. So far every day there had been something good happening with Serena, and the news was normally delivered by either Cutler or the attending, Dr. Khorey. He so far hadn't seen either of them, but he'd not been here that long.

It was clear that Erika wasn't quite sure either, and she'd been here all night. She would probably have been asleep for much of the morning though. He knew she hadn't been sleeping well, neither had he though. "I've not seen either since I woke up. Maybe before that though." He wondered if she'd slept in late through exhaustion, he wouldn't be surprised if she had, but he also wasn't going to ask. "Cutler's a good doctor."

"She is. I think her training began on _Enterprise_." He knew it did, but he wasn't going to take the credit, that all belonged to Phlox. He'd taken her interest in anatomy and had nurtured it. Now he and Erika were reaping the benefits. "Phlox trained her up to be a medic, then after the Expanse she got into medical school."

"Gotta admit, I'm glad she's Bunny's doctor, she understands the Starfleet camaraderie." Erika smiled, and Jon understood exactly what she meant. He guessed it was a little like the military. No matter where you served, if you met someone who had also served you had a common loyalty, and something you could bond over. Normally he wouldn't even think about the fact that almost everyone he knew was Starfleet, but when they were talking to the civilians here in the hospital he noticed the difference, and how it was nice to have someone who knew the differences.

He suddenly remembered that he had meant to tell Erika something, and he hoped that she wouldn't mind, but this was the perfect segue. "Speaking of, Hoshi is coming by to visit." At her questioning look he shrugged, figuring that she wanted to know how he'd spoken to Hoshi. "She was downstairs after visiting someone."

"Oh. That's good. It's about time Serena started meeting the others." That was a better reaction than he'd anticipated, but he was glad. Clearly Erika really had decided that Serena was OK, if she was ready to let other people meet her. "Trip left again?"

"Yesterday." He nodded, and he could understand in part how Hoshi felt. Only because he'd felt the same emptiness for seven years whenever _Enterprise_ and _Columbia_ had gone their separate ways. It was hard to be separated from the one you loved.

"At least he was home for Christmas and New Year." Erika made the obvious point, and all Jon could do at first was nod, he didn't really know what else he could add, other than that he thought that might be crueler than staying away. Sometimes staying apart meant it hurt less.

He knew that wasn't true though, it was a myth he'd told himself so he wouldn't miss Erika so much. He was sure that Hoshi, and Tosh, had been glad to have him home. "That's true. Seeing how disappointed he is whenever he has to leave again reminds me how glad I am that I decided that it was time to settle down on Earth after we got married." He still maintained that the decision to accept admiralty was the best one he'd made. That was when he remembered something Erika had said a few weeks earlier, just in passing, about how she missed being a Captain, and missed exploration. "Have you decided if you're staying?"

"Of course I'm staying." Erika's reaction to that told him that, maybe, the fact he'd worried about that was unnecessary. After a few seconds Erika laughed and shook her head. "You took a mid-pregnancy freak-out far too seriously Jonathan, I was never seriously going to leave you and Bunny." That shouldn't have surprised him. He knew her, and he should have known that once she'd made this commitment nothing was going to stop her staying to see it through.

"Sorry Rike." It was pretty much all he could say, because she did deserve this apology. He was about to say more when the sliding door to Serena's little room opened, distracting them from having a full blown argument.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" She was, but Jon couldn't really be happier about that. He wasn't really listening, but he heard Erika mutter something in another language, and Hoshi's smile brightened immediately. He somehow felt Erika was saying something he didn't want to know about.

He decided to keep pretending like he hadn't heard it, and then hoped that Serena wouldn't inherit her mother's talent for languages. Otherwise he was sure he'd hear a lot of them arguing in languages he didn't understand. "No, not at all. Come on in."

"Is this Bunny?" Hoshi asked as she came into the room and leant down over Erika and Serena. Jon was glad to look over and see Serena was still awake.

"It is. All 2.1kg of her." Erika answered, and Jon was glad that one of them remembered how much Serena weighed now. She'd been 1.6kg at birth, so she was doing well. he knew that, but he didn't have the memory the same way Erika did for these little details.

Hoshi clearly understood how important it was that Serena reach a good size, and Jon couldn't help but laugh at the face Erika pulled. "That's a good size considering how early she was!"

"She's a good grower, probably takes after Jon that way." Erika mumbled, and Jon wasn't sure if he was supposed to take it as a compliment or not. Her face gave nothing away when he looked at her, she was just sat paying all the attention she could to Serena.

"Hey, I heard that." He decided to play it off as being a tease, and one that he should be glad about. It had also sounded just a little suggestive in his mind, but that was probably only because he'd heard Erika and Veronica have a similar conversation in a very different setting.

"Here, Hosh, you take her a little while." Erika smiled and stood up, leaving the rocker free for Hoshi. A second later she'd handed the tiny bundle to Hoshi and stepped back a little with a smile. "I need to go get a coffee. I'll be back." She declared, then leant down and kissed him softly. He was glad that whatever argument they'd been having she wasn't angry with him.

A few minutes later Hoshi smiled, and spoke to Jon as she slowly rocked Serena. "She's beautiful. Oh, hello there little brown eyed girl." Clearly, Serena had just opened her eyes, and was no doubt now studying Hoshi with the same intensity she seemed to study everyone.

"She's got Erika's eyes." That was one of the best things, Serena had inherited Erika's eyes. He'd always been captivated by those eyes. Whenever he'd needed to be reassured, Erika's calm and steady gaze helped him through. It was the one thing he'd hoped the baby would get from her. "I was told most babies have blue eyes the first few weeks, but she's had brown eyes since birth." They had been the first thing he'd noticed about her. It was the best thing.

"They are so dark." Hoshi smiled, then once again looked at him seriously. "You and Erika holding up alright?" That was an interesting question, they hadn't had too much pressure, but they also hadn't spent much time with each other since Serena had been born.

"We've not spent much time together since Serena arrived outside of this room." This room had become most of the places where they'd been stood. That was kind of important for her. "But in general we're not doing badly, we're both just hoping that she makes it through."

"Why don't you go and join Erika for now. Have a coffee, and maybe some cake." Erika would love to have some cake, he knew that. It was definitely harder to be here than imagine. "Do something else for a little while. I'll sit here with Serena until you get back?"

That offer seemed too good to be true. Could he really spend the time with Erika for a while. It was something he wanted. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Nope, Tosh and the boys are with Trip's parents right now." Hoshi tried to push him out of the room and head him toward spending time with his wife, which was worth it. "Go, Jon. An hour out of this room together will make you both feel better."

"Thanks Hoshi." He smiled, truly grateful to his friend for making sure that he and Erika took care of themselves too. He knew that focusing on Serena was what they both wanted right now, but they also needed to focus on each other and what they needed together to get through this. It wasn't the easiest of situations for them to be in. So it was hard for him to imagine not taking Hoshi up on her offer. He wanted to spend more time with Erika too, so he could be sure she was coping alright. Serena was doing so well, taking an hour away wouldn't hurt anyone.


	29. Chapter 29

**And Serena just keeps getting better.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>January 5th 2162<strong>

Another morning where she'd left and gone home to clean up, relax and just spend some time away from the hospital. It was exactly what she'd needed and she hadn't even realised. Walking through to the NICU was becoming the norm, and she knew exactly where she was going. It wasn't anything she'd ever hoped for, but she was glad to know that she could navigate it with her eyes closed. As she walked through the door she spotted Elizabeth Cutler and gave her a bright smile "Good afternoon Captain."

"Afternoon Liz, Erika Remember." She wanted the staff here to call her by her first name. They saw her sleeping, and they heard her snoring. They'd heard more discussions and arguments than she'd like to think about, so it was definitely going to be worth it that they didn't think of her as a Captain.

"Sorry, Erika." Cutler smiled even wider and inclined her head as a show of deference. It was nice to know that she could get that much out of someone she hadn't really known two weeks ago.

Looking over to Serena's room she noticed someone she didn't recognise in Serena's room talking to Jonathan, he looked serious, but he didn't look worried. That was the best impression she could get from the distance seeing as Jon wasn't talking and the other person was facing away from her. "Is everything alright?" She asked, just wanting to be certain.

"Oh better than alright, that's Doctor Andrew Kemp, He's a pulmonologist." When Erika didn't move Cutler prompted her slightly, giving her a gentle push. "I suggest you get in there."

"It's good though?" She turned back and looked at Cutler seriously, not sure that she could cope with more bad news. Not when it had seemed like Serena had been getting better. She had been so strong recently, and had been focusing and making her opinions known, even with the tube.

"The very best." Cutler nodded again, motioning to the side room they could both see through.

"Thanks." She smiled again and finally walked toward the room, it was hard to make this walk when she didn't know what she was going to be facing. A moment later she slid open the door and slipped in, closing it after her with a gentle snap then giving Jon a light kiss and slipping into the chair next to him and rested a hand on her daughters leg. "Hey Bunny." She whispered to the baby and smiled, then turned her attention to the rest of the room.

"This is?" The doctor Cutler had mentioned asked, looking at Erika seriously as he did. It was clear he hadn't been told she'd be arriving back maybe as soon as she'd gotten back.

"My wife, Serena's mom." Jon reached out for her hand and smiled when she slipped her fingers between his. She was glad to hold his hand so tightly when she was still worried, clearly Jon realised that she was a touch worried, so he smiled then nodded to the doctor. "Maybe repeat what you've been saying for her."

She interrupted before he could start, looking at Jon seriously. She was too worried and concerned for her daughter to care about possibly being rude. It mattered more to her that she be reassured by Jon. "Is it good?"

"It's really good." He smiled and squeezed her hand quickly, giving her just a little extra hint of support.

A second later Kemp looked between them then smiled. "I was just explaining to Admiral Archer that I was brought in early this morning by Doctor Cutler, she has been slowly weaning Serena's oxygen pressure down since birth, and today she is down to 5% and still breathing over the vent." Erika nodded, and Jon joined her, that seemed to be as far as Kemp had gotten to in explaining it to Jon, as now he switched his attention from just her to alternating between both of them. "At that level they bring me or one of the other doctors on my team in to examine the babies."

"Right. The lower pressure is good, right?" Jon interrupted to ask. Erika remembered that from one or another of Cutler's many lessons about Serena's breathing machine. The magic number that Cutler had never told her had clearly been reached. Cutler had always been careful never to tell her, otherwise Erika would have been watched the machine much closer than she had been doing.

"It's what we like to see." Kemp was clearly used to worried parents interrupting him in the middle of what he was saying, which she could completely understand. She only didn't interrupt because she remembered it. "At the pressure Serena is needing we're ready to try taking her off the vent."

Now that did take her by surprise, she hadn't really expected them to be ready to take Serena off the vent so early. She was still so tiny, it was surprising, but the best news Erika had heard in a long time. They had said try though, so maybe it wasn't a guarantee. Not yet at least. "Really?" Jon asked, clearly missing the 'try' himself.

"They want to try." She repeated, squeezing his hand tightly then releasing.

"It's sometimes a leap of faith with little ones, especially those on the vent since birth." Kemp smiled widely and looked down at their tiny little monster. She had enough attitude without being able to make noise, Erika was sure that if she was off the vent she'd have even more ways to let them know when she was unhappy. "Serena has good, clear sounding lungs." Kemp continued, and she was just so happy to know that maybe they were finally reaching a turning point.

"When do we do this?" Jon thought with a smile. It was obvious that he was thinking about possibly thinking a lot about how they could do this, and whether they'd even be able to do anything.

Kemp looked between them with a smile, and it was obvious that he was happy enough to take the tubes out. "We can try it now."

"Are you sure?" She asked, not really wanting to take a risk if they weren't sure that Serena was ready for this. It was what she wanted, she would always want that. But if it wasn't what was best for Serena then it wasn't worth it.

"Absolutely." He smiled again, looking down at Serena's lab work again. "What we want to hear is a big cry. Captain, if you hold the mask, it'll give high pressure oxygen to help her start if she doesn't cry immediately." That was a really interesting bit of information. It would mean that they would know if it was going well. She hoped that soon enough they would be hearing their little girl for the first time. "Doctor Cutler."

"Doctor. You two ready for this?" Cutler asked as she came back in the room. Obviously to lend some extra support to Kemp for this part of the movement. Erika was a little on edge, but she was also excited and nervous. Basically all the same feelings she had assumed would come with birth and hearing her baby for the first time. It just came both two weeks late and eight weeks early.

Jon, clearly was feeling some of the same feelings, not that she could blame him. She was excited too, and she hoped that it would help. "We've been ready since the day she was born."

"Jonathan." She scolded gently, and jokingly. She agreed with what he was saying.

The two doctors then started working on getting the tube clear, and Erika looked away and tried to ignore what was happening. She wasn't very good with things like that. "The Tube is clear." As soon as she heard that she turned back, Serena was clearly getting used to being able to move without the tube, but she hadn't given the cry yet.

"Come on Bunny, give us a cry." Jon almost begged their daughter, and she knew how he felt, she wanted to echo his encouragement but the words couldn't come out. Probably a combination of nerves and fear.

"Captain the mask, just hold it near." Erika leant forward on Kemp's instruction and grinned. Jon tickled her foot in the way they'd noticed tended to wake her up, after another second or two there was a large cry, and Erika ended up turning and throwing her arms around Jonathan's neck and kissing his cheek. "That's what we like to hear. Congratulations Captain, Admiral."

All Erika could do was grin, so happy to hear Serena's cries. "Thank you doctor."

"It was my pleasure, I was serving with Starfleet during the war at Selly Oak." Erika knew that was the military hospital in Britain, it was where half the injured from the war were sent. She had had a few officers sent there herself. "Heard tales of what you two managed to pull off. I'm proud to have helped you here." Those officers were probably where the stories came from. He reached out and shook both their hands, then turned and left them with Cutler.

At Serena's continued crying she picked her daughter up and smiled, it was a lot easier to hold her like this. She was still mindful of the other tubes and wires, but the big one had been the breathing tube. Without that she was lucky and almost certain that it would be the first step in getting her home. "Shush, shush Bunny. No need for that is there."

"Isn't it better to be able to cuddle mommy without those big tubes." Jon commented, wrapping his arm back around Erika's middle. She grinned as he rested his chin on her shoulder and they both looked down at Serena happily. They both looked up again as Cutler came back in the room, clearly just to check on them.

"When will you start feeding her by mouth?" There were still some questions Erika had in addition to this, but that was the first one that mattered to her. She knew that giving Serena food orally rather than through the nasal tube was going to be a huge thing. She'd even been pumping so that it was her milk that Serena had been having, as it was the best, and she'd always intended to breastfeed.

"Probably a little bit tomorrow, sucking is instinctive so she should be able to master it pretty quickly." Cutler smiled, and that was once again the best news she could have imagined. She was so happy to know that they were possible to happen.

"That's good. That's great." She kissed the side of Serena's head gently. Just unable to believe they were finally at this point. Serena was sailing through everything asked of her, and it couldn't be better. "Thanks Liz."

"No problem Erika, Admiral." Cutler ducked out of the room again with a smile. Erika couldn't help but grin widely at the whole situation. It struck her that Cutler was still calling Jon 'Admiral' though.

Erika smacked Jon with her free arm gently then made her way to the rocker that was still in Serena's room, and had been since they'd first been able to hold her a week earlier. "You should let her call you Jon."

"I tried, she still calls me Admiral. She was one of my officers." That made sense in a way. She wasn't sure any of her former junior officers would ever be able to call her Erika either. Even if she insisted they would probably still call her Captain. Which she probably wouldn't mind either, it would no doubt be a little awkward for all involved.

"Hear that Bunny, Daddy's officers are still loyal to him 8 years after they last served for him." She held Serena up higher and kissed her cheek. It was amazing that after all this time, the last 13 days of worry, Serena was finally breathing on her own and looking great. Erika finally knew that it was time she could start planning for Serena's discharge. It was what she'd been praying for, and she was sure that Jon was as happy about all of this as she was. They both wanted this so much.


	30. Chapter 30

**Sam and Jon talk about work, and their friends.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>January 9th 2162<strong>

Jon's first day back at work wasn't going as smoothly as he'd hoped it would. He'd been trying to focus on the fact that he wasn't struggling with too much paperwork. Whether or not because Kit was trying to protect him from doing too much, or if he just didn't have all that much paperwork to do. He didn't really mind either way, but it gave him more time to think about the fact that he was missing spending all of his time with Erika and Serena. It was amazing how things had changed in just over two weeks. He was paused in his paperwork, this time just thinking about getting to the hospital as quickly as he could when his office door opened, one of his oldest friends coming through and smiling. "How you doing?" Sam Gardner asked, then slipped into one of the chairs opposite Jon's.

"Missing my wife and my daughter." He commented honestly. There was a possibility that Sam would understand exactly how Jon was feeling. He had children. He also had an ex wife, but that wasn't really too relevant to the discussion. Jon had a healthy relationship.

"How is the baby doing?" Sam asked looking serious. Probably not surprising, given that every parent Jon had spoken to since Serena's birth had imagined what it would have been like if their child had been in the position Serena was in.

"Serena? She's doing amazingly." The best thing for Jon was that that wasn't an exaggeration, she really was doing that well. He loved being able to tell everyone that. "They took the breathing tube out the other day, and she's started taking some from the bottle. She only gets an ounce or two down and then she tires out, they give her the rest via the tube." It was hard to know that she was still too weak to get all her food herself, but soon he hoped that she'd be able to do that in full.

Sam smiled, and clapped Jon on the shoulder in a friendly gesture. "Great. That's great news." It was great news, but Jon was still feeling miserable. More because he wasn't sure that he couldn't just go and sit with his family, and instead needed to be here. "Erika still staying with her?" Sam brought him out of his reverie with the question. It was a good one, and Jon nodded slowly, frowning as he did.

"Yeah, she doesn't want her to be alone." He knew Erika's idea of keeping Serena company at hospital, and one of them always being on hand if something happened was a good policy, but that wasn't stopping him from missing sharing the bed with his wife. "I miss having her at home though, and I hate that we can't bring Bunny home like a normal family." He hated that that was affecting him the way it was. He really didn't need it.

"When will you be able to take her home?" Sam asked, looking as serious as Jon was feeling. It was hard to believe that they were even having this conversation, and that Jon could assume they'd bring Serena home soon.

"A couple of weeks, probably." Jon tried to think of something else interesting to say, but really there wasn't much. He was learning that the NICU was, more than anything, monotony. Serena was doing well, that was really all there was he could say. Then he realised there was one interesting bit of trivia. "Elizabeth Cutler is her doctor."

"Cutler who was on your crew?" Sam clearly recognised her name, probably not surprising given that Jon had put her up for two commendations in the three years she'd been on his crew.

She had been so wonderfully talented and caring that on the crew she'd made a difference, now she was spreading that difference through the families of babies who needed a bit more care. Jon was proud of that. "Yeah, she left _Enterprise_ for medical school. She's apparently specialising in neonatology, which has put her as Serena's consultant."

"So they have a plan for when Serena will come home?" That was a fair question, and one that Jon didn't really understand. He knew there were goals, and that when Serena scored a certain amount she'd be ready for taking home. Erika had followed all that a lot closer than he had.

"There is a weight goal, 3kg I think." Considering she was 2.2kg now that seemed like a fair number, and probably something she could reach. He thought that was what Cutler had said, but really he wasn't sure. "She also has to be able to finish a full bottle and a host of other things I don't understand." He wasn't even going to attempt to guess at them for Sam's benefit, it wasn't worth it.

"I'm not sure anyone understands when it's a baby. I know I sure as hell don't." Sam's children were 11, 10 and 8. Jon wasn't entirely sure his friend remembered what it was like to father a baby.

He felt like he should point that out too. Not because it would mean that Sam didn't have any insight, but because it meant that there was a lot that he could help at a later date, right now his baby parenting skills were fairly dormant. "Your kids are soon-to-be teenagers."

"I'm well aware of this." Sam laughed and shook his head.

"You should come and visit Serena eventually." He did want to introduce Serena to the last living member of the NX programme's original team other than her parents. Sam had more stories about her parents than even Trip. Not to mention that Erika would be happy to see another friend visiting. "Erika would be glad to see you."

"As soon as I have chance I'll come for a visit." Sam agreed, then looked more seriously at Jonathan, making it clear that he wasn't asking for work, but as a friend. "Other than missing your girls, how are you slipping back into work?"

"I think Kit's been holding back my paperwork." He commented, because he didn't want to say that he was restless and struggling to focus. He was sure that Sam was aware of that though.

"I doubt she'd do that." Sam was right, and Jon knew that. It didn't stop him thinking it. He just felt very light. "You're still playing catch up. Finish filing your reports for your last week before Serena arrived then go back to the hospital. There is no need for you to push yourself too hard, too far and too fast right now Jonathan. You're a new father, and your daughter is still in the NICU."

That was all a fair point, and Jon was glad to know that at least Sam was willing to give him a pass on the fact he was struggling with things. So much was changing in his life right now, it was taking a lot to focus on it. "Thanks Sam."

"When she's released, we need to talk about your assignment. We're putting you at the head of R&D." That was news. He knew that he was going to be given a department to oversee before long, but for some reason he had never thought that he'd actually be put in command of research and development. It had seemed almost too good to be true.

"Research and Development? Really?" He'd always hoped that this would be where he could focus, but getting it was completely by surprise.

"Who better than to consider whether something will work for crews out in deep space than the person who has commanded the ship that went furthest?" Jon could accept that that was as good a reason as any to put him in charge of research and development, seeing what they could develop that would help space explorers reach the final frontier.

Erika would argue with that, he knew his wife that well. A big part of their recent dynamic was her arguing with his record. Saying that 12 light years shouldn't count, and they should be credited as going the same distance. "By twelve light years. Erika likes reminding me of that."

"I don't blame her, I'd remind you of that too." For some reason, Sam's agreement with his wife made him feel a little ganged up. Then again, Sam Gardner had never commended a ship. He'd always been on Earth as a test pilot. Clearly Sam's mind had been brought back to Erika. "Give her my best when you see her this afternoon?"

"I will. Thanks again, Sam." He couldn't be anything but thankful. His friend had ensured that he would be able to spend time with his family.

"Just remember to bring some pictures in tomorrow." That sounded very much like an order, one Jon wasn't going to refuse. "I'd best go do some work."

"I think that can be arranged." Jon laughed and shook his head. He was certain that he could bring everything he needed to show Sam exactly how well Serena was doing. It was still hard to believe that she was coming along as well as she was. He hadn't been sure if she'd actually come along as well, or as quickly as she was. Maybe soon he'd be able to convince Erika to come home at night. She needed to be in her own bed sometimes too.


	31. Chapter 31

**One of the nurses talks Erika into going home for a while.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>January 14th 2162<strong>

It was late in the evening, and Erika was too tired to be dealing with a fussy baby. She knew that in the next half an hour she'd be asleep, but right now Serena was fussy and Erika was willing to fall asleep in the rocking chair. "Hey little one, come on. Mommy is too sleepy to be up all night with you." She muttered, finally giving up and picking Serena up. She'd been advised to leave her down as much as they could, but she was not settling, and she looked a little uncomfortable. It was hard to tell.

Just at that moment the door slipped open, and in walked one of Serena's regular nurses. Caroline Jones had been involved with Serena's care since birth. It meant that Erika felt more comfortable with her than most of the others. "How's she doing?"

"She's not settling tonight, I think she's windy?" She asked, she'd never been quite clear on how to relieve that. She'd thought that she had winded her properly, but apparently it hadn't succeeded very well.

"That's possible, did you wind her?" Caroline asked and smiled, reaching out and patting Serena's back. All that Erika wanted was to make sure that Serena was OK, and right now she was having such a problem making sure of that.

That all started with the fact that Serena just would not settle. She was obviously doing something wrong. "I'm not really sure how, or if I'm doing it right." It hadn't been as obvious as she'd expected to figure out.

Caroline smiled and lifted Serena a little higher onto Erika's shoulder, helping her position her properly. "Let me give you a hint. Get her right into your shoulder, and use your boob in her stomach, don't worry it won't hurt her." Maybe that was why she wasn't doing well at this. She was scared of hurting Serena accidentally.

"You're sure?" She absolutely had to check, because she was too afraid to start right now.

"I'm absolutely certain." She smiled and put Erika's hand in the right place on Serena's back. It helped, to know she was starting in the right place. "Then rub her back in small circles for five, then gentle but firm pressure." She started trying, hoping that she was doing the best thing she possibly could.

"Like this?" She just wanted to know for certain. Serena, at least, didn't seem to be bothered, she was very comfortable and for now had stopped crying and seemed comfortable.

Caroline, however, grinned as she was checking all the IV bags and the medications that she was looking over both of them. "A little bit harder, don't worry she won't break." She started patting Serena's back a little harder and firmer.

"I never thought burping would be such hard work." It was hard to believe how hard this was to do, but she very, very quickly started to get into the rhythm of patting Serena's back. It was quite calming and relaxing in an odd and slightly pathetic way.

"Probably because adults can do it without thought, babies not so much." Caroline was grinning at the same time, so maybe Erika wasn't completely alone in finding this being really calming. Right now all Erika really wanted was for Serena to be calm, and for Jon to arrive soon so she could go to sleep. As for babies not being able to burp, that seemed to fit with the theme of them being unable to do anything when they were babies.

"That would make sense, you can't really control anything yet can you?" Erika asked Serena sarcastically, the urge to be sarcastic was probably something she needed to control.

Caroline grinned and made a few notes on Serena's chart, Erika hoped they weren't notes about how inept she actually was. That wasn't going to help her when she started looking at being able to take him home. "I'm going to be doing some bathing later, if you'd like to learn how to do that too?"

"Are you sure?" She asked, not wanting to get in the way or be more or a nuisance than she already had been today. Though, she knew as well as Caroline did that if she was never taught she wouldn't learn.

"Of course, it's best for you to learn now rather than later." That she could agree with, and she was excited to know that she would hopefully be learning all of this would just be helpful for when she and Jon took Bunny home. "When it's Serena's turn I'll make sure you're here."

"Thank you." Erika was about to say something else about how to bath the baby, but at that exact moment Serena let out the largest belch that Erika had heard in quite some time. "Oh, now that was a big burp. Are you feeling better now, Bun?" She grinned and shook her head and then kissed the side of Serena's head.

Straight away Serena's whimpering gave way to a much happier gurgling. Just as Jon had predicted days ago, Serena was rarely quiet. She was always trying to let everyone to know how she was feeling about it. "She sounds a little happier. Where's dad today?"

"He had to go back to work at the beginning of the week." She hated that he had to go back to work, but she had understood his reasons too. She was glad to know that he was thinking about things after Serena went home. "He wants to save his leave for if he needs to take time off in the coming months or years. It was a habit we both got into during the war." Back then it had been great. They would get some time together, and that would be all she needed when she was struggling during the middle of the war. "If we saved leave time for when the ships were recalled at the same time, he and I could sneak away for a few days and be a normal couple." They had often locked themselves in one of their apartments and ignored everyone.

"That sounds nice."

"It was." Erika laughed and bounced Serena a little, glad to know that her daughter had come out of something like that. "It was a post-war rendezvous like those that led to this one."

"You got pregnant on active service?" That was a fair question.

"I didn't know I was pregnant until I was planetside after _Columbia_ was sequestered as an Academy training ship." She suddenly missed her ship, kissing Serena's cheek she tried not to think about it. Even after so long, it still felt strange not to be going back to the ship.

It seemed that Caroline was confused about one part of the story, or at least that was the expression that suddenly crossed her face. "Oh, so she was never a space baby?" She asked, and Erika smirked a little knowing how to answer that.

"Well she was, she was conceived at Rigel." That was one of her favourite memories from the months following the war. She'd spent a lot of time in those months just celebrating with Jon the fact that they'd both survived, both when they were together and when they weren't.

"That may be more information than I needed to know." Caroline held her hand up and laughed.

"It's probably more information than anyone needed to know, but you brought this up." She laughed and shook her head.

Caroline, it seemed, understood more than she'd let on about why Erika was thinking about that. "You know, you and your husband need to spend some time together away from this place. Serena is doing well, you should both go home tonight and spend a night together. If anything happened we can call you. You live five minutes away."

"I don't want her to be alone." She kissed the side of Serena's head and frowned. That was the worst thing about all of this. She really didn't want to leave Serena on her own all night. She was still so tiny, and so dependant.

"She won't be, I'm on a double tonight and I'll sit in here with her on break. We'll even leave the door open to hear her if she cries." Caroline took another look at her, then stepped forward and took Serena off her. "You have to look after yourself too Erika, you'll be of no use to Serena if she has unhappy parents."

"You're right, and Jon will be happy to have me home for a night. I know he misses me, he tells me often enough." He told her every night when it came time for him to go home. They had more often than not ended up them almost crying to each other. She wouldn't be unhappy for that to change.

Caroline just shook her head with a smiled as she checked Serena's diaper. "You two have spent your careers apart. You have a baby, you've no need to keep spending time apart." OK she had a point there, where was the need for her to stay here now. Caroline clearly realised she was nearly there in convincing her to take the night off. "You haven't slept in your own bed in almost three weeks. Go home tonight, you'll feel better for it."

"I think I will. Thanks." She was honestly grateful to the nurse who had become like a friend over the last two and a half weeks. She had seen the best and worst of her family, and Caroline probably recognised that her marriage was strained by this situation.

"I'll be back for bath time." Caroline left, and Erika just stood in the doorway for a minute and thought about that decision. She wasn't sure if it said something about her confidence in the medical team, or if it was more about how well Serena was doing, but she accepted that it was probably time she and Jon spend some time away from the hospital. They both needed to take a break, and she was grateful she'd been pushed to see that now.


	32. Chapter 32

**Jon is all too happy to have Erika home with him.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>January 14th 2162<strong>

There was something about being sat here and listening to his very sleepy wife getting sad about leaving Serena for the night. He hadn't really expected her to tell him that she was going to be ready to go home for a little while. He knew that she was already regretting her decision, or at least having second thoughts, but she seemed to be sure. He just wanted to get her out now. So he stood up and smiled down at his little girl, who was just beginning to fall asleep again. "We'll see you in the morning Bun." He wrapped an arm around Erika's back and smiled, leading her out of the room. This was a huge step, and he was pretty sure that she'd be on her way back in a few hours, no doubt going to drag him along with her.

"It's nice to see you two leaving." He looked over at the nurse. _Carol, Carrie_? He was sure he knew the name. It wasn't coming to him at all though. "See you in the morning." the nurse called out to them with a smirk.

"Thanks Caroline." Erika was the one to reply, and suddenly Jon realised who it was that had convinced Erika that she needed the night to come home. That was the best thing that someone could have done right now.

"You sure you're ready for this?" He asked as they walked out of the room and headed for the turbolifts. It was the best feeling, being able to leave this place. Hopefully soon they'd be able to walk out carrying their daughter. As soon as Serena was healthy enough for them to leave.

Erika just nodded and squeezed him gently as she wrapped her arm around his back. That felt better than he expected. "Yeah, we both need to get away." He was glad to know, at least, that Erika was sure about going home.

"I'm glad you're coming home, I've missed you." He'd really missed her. Considering they had spent the majority of their lives apart, he had hoped that when they were earthbound they'd both be able to stay at home. Then Serena had shown up and once again he'd gone almost three weeks without Erika being at home.

"I've missed you too." He couldn't help but smile at Erika's reply. He was glad to know that she had missed him too. At least she could say it, at one time she hadn't been able to say something that resembled emotions.

Knowing that she was sure coming home was important to her. She lead him out, walking toward their apartment. At least they were close enough to walk pretty calmly, and quickly, back home. He needed to think about something that they could do tonight, given that they were here together. "So, what do you want to do tonight, dinner, movie?" He would take her anywhere she wanted, that was how happy he was to have her home.

"If we can do both of those things at home." She grinned, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, reciprocating how she had her arm around his waist. She didn't look quite sure about heading out for the night, so he focused on what else he could do. "I'm not ready to face the masses yet." Actually, that wasn't completely surprising. Last time she'd been in public she'd had a rather prominent bump. Now they had an almost-three-week-old who was still in the hospital. He wouldn't want to face them in her situation either.

"I understand." He was sure that was what she needed to here, that he understood how she felt, and why she didn't want to go out. "How come you decided to come home tonight?" Why it mattered to her was something he was interested to know.

She shook her head and squeezed his side. That was one of her many ways of telling him that he was asking a silly question. "Serena's doing well, I haven't slept in my own bed for a while, and you and I need some time together." He couldn't argue with that. They hadn't had a single day alone together since before Christmas, and before Serena.

"I'm glad you picked now to come home." He was really excited to spend the night together, for some reason it seemed like it had been a long time since. "What movie do you feel like?" He hoped she'd pick, at least.

"Something funny. You can pick." He was always in a bind when she let him pick. He tried his hardest to think of something she'd enjoy, glad to be getting home. He pulled the door open and let go, laughing as she took the lead then stuck her tongue out at him. "Oh even opening the door too."

"I'm a good husband you know." He teased back, because it was obvious that she was happy to be teasing him. She had always been that way, and he enjoyed it too.

At least she seemed a lot happier right now than she had been in the hospital, it was nice to see her smiles again. "I agree. You are."

"You're being nice to me?" He fell onto the sofa in mock surprise, then sat himself up a little higher and laughed at the look on her face.

"What can I say, I'm happy." She sunk onto the couch beside him, and he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and smirked. Letting her rest against his chest. "Tell me what's been going on at work?" He was surprised that she was asking, or even thinking, about Starfleet. But he hadn't had chance to tell her about Sam's offer, so he was glad to get her opinion. She was very important.

"I have gotten a very interesting offer from Sam." She sat up and looked around at him, he just grinned, trying to make sure she knew he was happy about it. "Well, it's an assignment, really."

"Oh?" She finally asked, and he smirked widely with a laugh. She at least didn't look worried.

"I'm being made head of research and design."

"Really?" She say, with a note of surprise. She knew exactly what he had wanted, and they were both probably having the same reaction to the fact he'd gotten exactly what he'd wanted. That wasn't always guaranteed in Starfleet.

"Yeah." He pulled her a little closer then smirked. "Sam said they can wait until Serena is out of the hospital before I start."

Erika smiled, then leant up and kissed him hard. He hadn't expected that, but just leant into her more and returned it. When she pulled back he just grinned, waiting for her to restart the conversation. "That's good. You would be amazing as head of research and design." It was nice to have her support on this, and somehow he was sure she'd be happier about his position than many others, including him sometimes. How did he know he'd be any good at this?

"I'm nervous, what if I'm not as good as I think?" It was a valid question, and something that had been playing on his mind in the middle of the night when he'd been alone. Normally when he was over-thinking something he would ask Erika, but recently that hadn't been something he could do, so he was going to make the most of this.

"You love everything that you do, and helping to develop something new would be brilliant for you." She kissed his cheek then smiled widely. "Trust yourself Jon." That was something she had told him that regularly over the whole time they'd known each other, this time he would have to listen. She'd not make it worth his while if he didn't.

It did all remind him that he and Sam had eventually managed to discuss what she'd be doing when she finished her maternity leave. While Erika hadn't asked, he knew she was concerned about her team. "When you come back you'll be going straight back into heading up your communication team."

"That's great, I miss my stupid job sometimes, and I miss my stupid ship." He had never, in eight years, before heard her call _Columbia_ a stupid ship. She loved that ship, and he knew she was still angry that it had been sequestered by the Academy for use as a training ship.

"Your 'stupid' ship?" He asked, wanting to know what had prompted her to call it that.

She sat forward again and looked at him seriously. "If I don't call it stupid I'll cry."

Well, that was all fair enough, and it made him think about his ship. Ten years ago he'd been almost a hundred light-years from Earth. He hadn't lost a single crewman yet, and he was having fun exploring. Then, there was the Xindi, then the Romulans, and now he was probably safer here. He still missed his ship sometimes too though. "I miss _Enterprise_ too." He slipped into silence as Erika rested back against his chest.

"Jonathan, are you alright?" She asked after a few minutes of silence. He didn't blame her for suddenly being a little worried about him. He needed to think about what else he could say to convince her that he was fine, but instead he just changed the subject.

"Yeah, let's order something to eat. Thai?" It was normally her favourite 'feel good' food. He wasn't a huge fan of it, but he had favourites, and if Erika liked it then it was worth it.

"I like Thai. Or can we just go to bed?" She asked, kissing his shoulder lightly.

He looked at the chrono on the wall, which had only just clicked over to ten pm a few minutes earlier. While he wasn't against getting into bed just to cuddle, he worried a little about Erika's motivations. "Bed, already?"

"Bed and a movie, I just want to cuddle." That wasn't really like Erika, and she hadn't been that blunt about it since the middle of the war, but he wasn't going to complain either.

"I'm fine with that." He could tell she was still worried about Serena, and about how she was doing at the hospital without either of them. He could understand, because he had worried about her every night since her birth. He worried all the time. What he'd learnt, however, was that she was fine regardless, and the nurses would keep her safe. "Serena will be fine, Erika."

She sat up a little and this time rested the side of her head against his. "I know. I just miss her, that's all."

"Believe me, I know how you feel." Every night for the last three weeks he had missed Serena, and he'd missed Erika. He couldn't wait until a night when he had both his girls home. "She'll be home soon."

"She will, then we can be a family." He didn't agree with that. They were already a family and nothing was going to change it. having Serena home would just be a bonus. A bonus they both desperately needed right now.

"We're already a family, Rike. Nothing will change that." He nuzzled against her cheek and smiled, wanting nothing more than to hold her tightly and smile. It was important for right now that she know they were a family. Regardless of what happened on the outside, the two of them, and their little miracle, were a family.


	33. Chapter 33

**Sleeppy conversations. This was at the part during writing where I just really needed to randomly write angsty.  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>January 14th 2162<strong>

Erika had been trying, a little, to get off to sleep. But she hadn't managed. Her brain had been too preoccupied thinking about everything that was bothering her, and all the people who were never going to get the chance to see her again, or to meet Serena and say hello to her. She couldn't stop focusing on those things. As she laid their she listened to the slow, steady breathing beside her, and tried to keep focusing on that. Eventually though that wasn't enough, and she made the decision to try and wake her husband up. "Jon?"

"Yeah?" Came his groggy reply a few seconds later. Rather than staying where he was, like he normally would, he rolled over and wrapped his arms around her. Maybe that was his way of saying that he missed her and wanted her to stay right there.

"You're awake?" It was a stupid question. She had woke him up, she was happy enough to have done it, but she really didn't need to ask the question. Especially considering that she was the one who had woken him.

"Talking tends to wake me up." Someone had taken his sass pills while she was staying at the hospital. It was a relief for her to know that even when she wasn't around often he could still give her a sarcastic answer.

"Haha, you know what I mean." She replied sarcastically and was quite relieved when he just shifted a little too hold her more tightly.

He squeezed her a little and she could almost hear the smirk in his voice. "Sure, what's up Rike?" He asked in the end, holding her tightly. She suddenly felt a lot better than she had been feeling, just knowing that he was there to listen to her when she needed to ramble. It really helped.

"I was just thinking about A.G., and Rob, and Veronica." She was a little sorry for bringing up their friends, but right now she wanted to think about them, and about the people that their daughter was never going to meet.

"Why?" Jon asked, and she didn't really know how, or what, to answer when it came to this situation. She was way too emotional thinking about it to answer without crying. Her hormones were clearly still all messed up from pregnancy.

"Because." She just couldn't think of a way to say it, or to explain why her brain had chosen to focus on them right now of all things.

The concern on Jon's face reminded her exactly how much he worried when she thought too much about things like this. "Rike?"

"I miss them Jon." She was honest. She really missed all of them, and it was probably her mind trying to punish her, or annoy her, that she was remembering how long it had been since each of them had died. It was ridiculous, but she couldn't make her mind stop. "You realise in March it'll be nine years since A.G. died. It's almost five years for Veronica." Jon put his finger on her lip sleepily to stop her saying anything more on the subject.

"I miss them all too." He whispered, then pressed his forehead against hers in a supportive gesture. It really helped her feel better about the situation, knowing that he missed their friends too.

Missing them was one thing, but what she hadn't been able to shake was what they'd think of right now, if they could know that not only had the two of them gotten married, but that somehow they had started a family too. "What do you think they'd say if they could see us now?" She wondered about Jon's opinion on it, because he arguably knew A.G. and Rob better than she did.

"Rob would be Rob, probably find a way to be grumpy about it." OK, that was true. She didn't remember a day in their long time as friends that Rob hadn't been grumpy about something or another.

"He was grumpy about everything. I bet he shit fedoras like the gay pride movement shit rainbows." She laughed, and Jon joined in with her, snickering slightly as he clearly remembered Rob's stance too. "You know we worked together for ten years and I don't think I ever saw him crack a single smile. Not even when we were celebrating." It had creeped her out when they first started working together, but after a few months she got used to his permanently dour expression.

"That was a bit harsh. I think I saw him smile once. You were singing at the 602 with Emily." That didn't really narrow it down. Emily hadn't always joined in the singing, but if she felt like putting on a show, Erika would always happily sing to the piano. She'd loved having an excuse to keep performing back then. Jon kissed her gently then pulled back with a smirk. "He had a crush on you."

"He did not!" There was no chance Rob had had a crush on her, ever. They hadn't really spoken all that much outside of team events, and so the whole idea of him having a crush on her was foreign to her.

"He did. I swear." Jon kept laughing, and she just kept shaking her head, she was never going to believe that. Never. It was too weird. "He complained at me once about the fact you were so friendly with me and A.G. and not with him. A.G. looked at you like a little sister."

That brought her up short. She and A.G. had bonded early in the project in a completely different way to how she and Jon had. A.G. had sought her out when she was homesick and told her that it was OK. From that moment on he'd looked out for her. "I know that, the one time he and Simon met, just after we started dating, the two of them got on like a house on fire. Mostly insulting you." That had been one of the most amusing meetings of her life. The difference had been that A.G. liked Jon, and Simon hadn't.

"Insulting me was A.G.'s favourite thing to do." Jon laughed, and it was clear he understood that A.G. had never meant it nastily. "He'd be happy to see where we are now. He so wanted us to be happy together."

"I remember I called him, a week after I started on the _Republic_, and all he did for this entire call was tell me to call you and make up." She had hated everything about that idea back then. Now she wondered why she hadn't listened to A.G., maybe she and Jon would have worked things out a few years earlier.

"He was probably fed up of me sleeping on his sofa and complaining about how much I missed you." That was news, but she'd never really spoken to Jon about what he'd been like after they broke up. She'd been on the _Republic_ and it hadn't seemed necessary for her to know. "Bit like Sam has probably been fed up of me complaining at him recently at work. Veronica was always the best for complaining too." That was news. Veronica had always tried to avoid Erika complaining at her.

So she couldn't help but question that. She had always assumed that she'd just been uncomfortable with the complaints she was getting. "Really? She used to hate me complaining at her too much."

"She just liked to wind you up. You know she'd be the first one wanting to hang out with Serena, teach her all the naughty things that you and I would be annoyed about." There would be a lot of things too. She knew that. Veronica would be the first on

"No doubt tell her all the stories of the things her mom and dad did when they were younger. She'd be a menace." Erika couldn't help but laugh again, because the idea of Veronica sitting rocking Serena and telling her rude stories was too hard not to think about.

Jon laughed loudly in return and shook his head. They both knew Veronica well enough to know exactly what she'd be like, and it was hilarious to think about. "It'd be great, wouldn't it."

"I wish they were here Jon." She really did. While she loved Kiona and Kalil, and the other friends she had, she missed the friends she'd spent her junior officer years with. The people who she didn't have to explain everything to. They already knew all those stories, because they were there with her. There were other people she missed too. "All three of them, and Sidra, Reiko, T'Pol, Karl. Everyone else who we lost."

"Me too." He admitted, and she was glad that he didn't try to tell her that it would be OK. She knew it would be OK, but that didn't stop her missing her friends. So knowing Jon missed them too was helpful.

"Tell me things about T'Pol." She muttered, resting her head on Jon's chest. She had been struggling tonight with thinking about the people she had lost, the friends who weren't here to meet Serena. She hated that they weren't here, that A.G. had never met Andrea, and that he wouldn't meet Serena. The universe was a horrible place, and it was unfair that it took the ones who had the most to live for. She'd live for them all now.


	34. Chapter 34

**Jon's grumpy about work.  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>January 18th 2162<strong>

Jon had hated today. He wasn't sure what it was about today, but he truly hated it. At least he was done. He'd read most of the PADDs on his desk, he'd filed a lot of the others, and he was happy about what else was going on here. Especially now he knew he could go home. "Kit, I'm going." He said, walking out of the door. His aide stood up and smiled.

"Did you finish your report?" She asked, and Jon suddenly decided that he was hating today even more than he had been before. He'd read all of the reports and written the one he needed to hand in. The only one he needed to hand in as far as he was aware.

"It's on my desk." He pointed back over his shoulder and shook his head. He just wanted to go, head back to the hospital and sit with Erika and Serena through bath-time and bottle time. Then maybe he could go home, cook and sleep.

"Both of them?" Kit pointed out, and all of a sudden he wasn't sure that he had seen another report. Did he know about another report? Maybe he was juggling a little too much for the moment.

"There was another?"

Kit sighed and pointed at a notice on the planner in front of her, and he realised what it was. It was for an inspection he'd done the other day, and he'd completely forgotten that he needed to write a report. "You needed to sign off on the _Curie_'s recertification."

"I'll do that in the morning." He was leaving, he was leaving and she certainly wasn't going to let this keep him behind and make him miss precious time with his family.

"Admiral, they need to ship out tomorrow afternoon." She scolded, and somehow he remembered that part of the conversation, the fact that they had a specific day to have recertified by.

"I'll come in early and certify they are fit to continue." They really were fit to continue too, he hadn't seen a ship quite so clean, even _Enterprise_ and _Columbia_ hadn't been anywhere near as clean straight after a refit. Maybe he and Erika had just had very messy crew. That was possible, wasn't it?

Kit rolled his eyes and shook her head. Clearly, she wasn't all that surprised that he said that, and she was not at all happy about it. "Which means I have to come in early."

"No, come in at normal time." She shook her head and nodded, which made him feel like at least he'd told her exactly what he thought. There was no need for her to be in before he was. "I have to get to the hospital." That was it, he was going. She wasn't going to talk him out of it.

She clearly didn't have all that much she could say to that other than to nod in agreement. "Yes sir."

"See you tomorrow." He commented, then shook his head and smiled. He was determined to get out and get to the hospital.

He was almost out the main door, onto the street, when he heard another voice, and another shout. There was no chance that he was going to be able to avoid this conversation. "Off again Jon?" Admiral Greg Black asked as he stepped forward and looked seriously at him. Jon wasn't in the mood to deal with him, but she didn't have a choice about it. Black wasn't someone who he could just ignore and hope would disappear.

"I have to get to the hospital, I'll miss bath-time otherwise." He was determined to keep walking, and he was just disappointed when Black fell into step beside him.

"Jon." Black cautioned, but there was no way Jon was falling more behind. All he wanted to be was out, and headed back to the hospital. Serena was due a bath soon, and he enjoyed being there for bath, because it meant he, and Erika, learnt about how Serena reacted to being in the bath.

"Look, Serena will be released soon, and then I'll be back here and working more regular hours." He already knew that he was going to be working on the backlog the minute that Serena was released, and he'd soon enough be caught up she was sure. "But until then my family is going to come first." That was his priority for the moment, letting his family be the ones in charge.

"Fine, see you tomorrow." Black gave up, maybe noticing that Jon wasn't going to change his mind just because he was being given a hard time.

As soon as Black had disappeared he broke into a run, hoping to make up the time that he'd missed in the two very thorough conversations he'd been having, and trying to get out of. He got into the NICU and smiled, seeing that bath-time hadn't begun, and that Erika was still just sat looking at their daughter. Once he'd got in there he smiled, leaning down and giving his wife a gentle kiss. "You're late." She commented the moment he was sat down.

"By five minutes, she still awake?" He asked then sat forward, seeing Erika's eyes reflected back at him from the little girl. It still surprised him that both his girls had the same eyes. Serena being away was a good thing though, he was glad to see her wide awake.

"Yeah, the nurses are slower." Erika motioned out of the glass wall and frowned sadly, pointing to where there was a newly-empty bed. "The little boy in the corner didn't make it." She supplemented, and he suddenly realised how badly something could have gone for them. He'd nodded to the parents, and shared well wishes whenever they could, but he now had no idea how they were feeling.

"That's sad, how were his parents?" It was a question he didn't want to think about experiencing himself.

"Crushed, I stayed in here and watched, didn't want to intrude." That was not necessarily all that surprising. He had never been great at helping people, and while Erika was better at it than he was, they both had the same problem with being in Starfleet. They only really understood other people in Starfleet. "How come you're late?"

That was going to be a little harder for him to think about, because he didn't want to worry Erika at the same time as not wanting to lie to her. So he tried to comment in the simplest way he could. "Something about a ship I'm supposed to recertify and Black being an asshole on my way out."

"Black is always an asshole." He'd made Black the bad guy, which was easier than he would have thought. Greg Black was the person who Erika hated the most in Starfleet. He'd tried to burn her out of Starfleet when she was a junior officer, always criticising her. In the early years of the NX programme Forrest had had to protect her from Black on more than one occasion.

"I might have to start staying later at the office, I'll probably miss bath-time." He hoped he didn't, but Black's starting to comment about it told him that the higher-ups were beginning to notice exactly how much time he was spending away from work and with his family.

"I think as long as you make it for feeding time it'll be OK." That wasn't what he was expecting. He was sure that Erika was ready for that though. She had supported him when he said that he was going back to work. Now though he wasn't sure about it, but Erika wasn't bothered, that much was clear. "I'll be doing most of the bathing, but you can be damn sure when we take her home you're doing morning feedings." For some reason, that seemed typically Erika. She had never been a morning person.

"Well, I am pretty sure I can agree to that." He would actually love that. Getting up in a morning and spending time bonding with his daughter.

Erika smirked, then nudged him with her shoulder. He was, for some reason, not at all surprised that she was thinking that way. "Good, I'm not really giving you a choice, you know?" That was also not a surprise to him. Erika had always been certain on what she wanted and what was best for both of them.

"I am well aware of that." He grinned, shaking his head and then leaning over and kissing Erika's cheek. It was his current favourite thing, being able to sit with her. He went back to focusing on Serena, then turned to give her a grin. "You sure you're OK with me not being here?" He, for some reason, felt the need to ask again.

"Yeah." She smiled, and that time she leant over and kissed him gently then shook her head. "Jonathan you have to do your job too."

"I know, I just don't want to miss things." He hated the idea that he would have to miss the things that would matter when it came up. He didn't want to leave Erika doing everything, that really wasn't fair to her, or to Serena who he hoped would want her dad around.

Though Erika clearly disagreed with what he was saying. Maybe not completely, but enough that she would bicker with him about it. If she didn't disagree she wouldn't have said anything. "You're not really missing much."

"Are you coming home tonight?" He had begun getting used to sleeping beside Erika again. She'd been home two nights in the last few days, and that had been enough for him to smile. The first night neither of them had slept much, but the second night they'd just slept, and he'd got to curl up with her.

She shrugged gently, and that really made him confident. "Bunny's been a bit fussy today, let's see how she does after her bath then I'll decide." If Serena was having a fussy day, it would be better that Erika stay here, to help the nurses with her. They had been told that Serena didn't settle well without one of her parents being there.

"I am really sorry that I was late." He apologised again, even though Erika hadn't said a single thing that indicated she was annoyed by it, or anything else. She was definitely going to be the one that made sure he didn't worry too much, she always had been.

"You don't need to be Jon, it's going to happen from time to time, from both of us." He had known that, but he'd still worried himself about not being around when his family needed him. "Don't worry." She kissed his forehead and laughed. He had to admit, her telling him not to worry was amazingly helpful and was exactly what he'd needed to hear. Knowing that she wasn't angry that he'd been late, not that she really would have been, was good too.


	35. Chapter 35

**Now Kalil gets to meet baby Serena.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>January 22nd 2162<strong>

Today was going to be a very important day for Erika, and for Serena. This was going to be the first time she left the NICU. She wasn't going far, only across the hall to one of the family rooms, but that was a long way for such a tiny person. The problem, largely, was that Serena needed to be in a onesie, and the one thing Erika had noticed was that Serena seemed happier in nothing more than a diaper. "Hey, come on Bun you're meant to be working with me here." She muttered, desperately trying to close the snaps on this onesie. She already knew Kalil had arrived, as she waved him into the room, she wasn't sure about Jon and Sam, but either way she knew that she needed to get out there.

Finally she had everything closed, and had Serena and her medication pump all ready to go. As she approached the front desk Elizabeth, another nurse, smiled and opened the door. "You're allowed to take her out for the first time, huh?"

"As far as the family room." She nodded to the open door on the other side of the corridor and smiled, glad to know that this was all going ahead. As with everything so far she'd worried that, for some reason, they wouldn't be able to take Serena down. Today she needed to meet a couple of important people to her life. "We've a couple friends coming to meet her, and neither of them really want to come in here."

"Parents?" Elizabeth clearly knew the type of people who would never, ever want to step foot in the NICU if they didn't have too. Erika was already looking forward to the day she could walk out and not have to worry about coming back. She didn't blame Sam and Kalil for not wanting to step foot in the box of horror that was their temporary home.

"Yeah, ten kids between the two of them, I think." She had to shrug and admit that she wasn't sure how many Kalil actually had. She just operated on the assumption of 8, but she knew it could be more than that. "We all lost count with one of them."

Elizabeth burst out laughing and just looked at Erika incredulously. "Ten?" She asked, in the same shocked tone implied by her expression.

"One has a normal number, just the two, one has eight." She was happy with one, having another was the opposite of what she wanted. The thought of having 8 made her body ache in ways she didn't want to think about. "At my last count I'm not certain anymore." The simple fact was that Kalil was a good guy, and he was a amazing father. Which was probably part of why Faisa had agree to have so many children with him. "He's a good guy, his family are very traditional."

"Starfleet?" Elizabeth asked, and it was probably not a question that needed to be asked. Erika no longer remembered if she had any friends outside of Starfleet left. Hoshi even counted as Starfleet, and neither Maria nor Simon were 'friends'. They were family.

"Yeah. All our friends are Starfleet." She admitted then shook her head with a smile. It was really hard to think.

Once again, a good natured laugh escaped from Elizabeth, and Serena made her displeasure at Erika's laughter known. "I have noticed that. There is a comm line from the waiting room to the nurses station, press it if you need something." She looked at the buzzer then nodded and smiled.

"Thanks." She said, then turned out to the corridor, looking at Serena's little face which was still showing that Serena hadn't been happy at the laughter.

As soon as she got into the family room she kicked the door closed and smiled at Kalil as she settled down. "Hey, Erika." She smiled then looked around, expecting for there to be others in the room, but it was obvious that Kalil wasn't sat with anyone else around. "Jon and Sam should be here soon."

"He's probably still dealing with Black." That comment from Kalil made her wonder what problem Black had invented to keep Jon away from the hospital. Thanks to Black he already missed bath-time most nights, and it was just getting more obvious that there were things she needed to ask about. Especially when it came to her previous arch-nemesis.

"Is Black still giving him a hard time?"

"I remember how you were having trouble with Black when you were younger." Back on the NX programme she and then Captain Black had crossed paths more than once. Nothing had changed in the last twenty years. "I don't think he's purposefully doing it to annoy Jon, or you."

Kalil may have had a point, but Erika wasn't really in the mood for being forgiving. She sat down onto the sofa beside him and made sure Serena was comfy. As usual she was wide awake and looking around at anyone around her. "Black... Well, maybe not he'd not doing it purposefully, but he's still doing it."

"OK I'll give you that, so this is the little one?" Kalil asked, reaching out and rubbing Serena's back

"Yeah, this is Serena Veronica Archer, aka Bunny." She announced Serena's full name and held her up a little higher. No matter how Erika looked at her, Serena looked just like Jonathan. She had her eyes, but that was basically it. Everything else was all Jonathan, and she was fine with that.

"Veronica?" Kalil asked after a second. Freezing in place while tickling Serena.

"She was my best friend." Erika reminded him. No matter what she was always going to be remembered, and giving Serena a meaningful middle name was all he could think of. "Her first name is for my aunt who used to let me hang out at her place when I was younger, she died last year."

"Sorry." He whispered looking stricken.

She shook her head and added a wide smile. Aunt Serena had lived a good, long life. She had raised three children of her own, and had always been there for her nieces and nephews. "Nah, she had a good life, want to hold her while we're waiting for Jon and Sam?"

"You don't mind?" Kalil asked, and she shook her head. He was a father, she was assuming that he had managed to hold his children and not kill them before now, meaning he was probably one of the best qualified people she knew to have a cuddle with her very picky and fussy daughter.

"No, I think you should hold her." She slipped her out of her embrace and laid Serena in Kalil's arms. Unlike most people who Serena didn't like, she didn't start crying. Erika was proud of that. "Here. I just fed her, not too long ago"

"Oh my, She's so tiny. None of my kids were ever this small."

Erika sighed and shook her head. Kalil's kids were all full term, and they were all big. Serena was probably half the size of the smallest of Kalil's kids. "All your kids were born at term. She was 10 weeks early."

"When was she due?" He clearly didn't remember that.

"Not until March." If she had the choice, she'd still be pregnant. But since Serena had arrived she wouldn't change anything. Her little girl had fought through everything that was thrown at her. So it was only fair that her mother fought too, and didn't forget how hard it had been for Erika.

"She seems to be doing well." He observed, and she had to grin. Serena was doing amazing and she'd managed to finally hit her weight goal. Now she just needed to be able to finish a full bottle. Then she'd be able to go home.

It made her proud of their family, and everything they had to do. "Yeah, she is. I'm proud of her." It was amazing that she was here. Jonathan was so loving having Serena, because she was a happy little thing, and she made Jon happier than she could imagine. They finally had a family. "Jon is smitten by her, you should see what he's like when she's awake. Dotes on her."

"He's a father, that'll never change." Kalil looked at Serena with a smile, and maybe with the knowledge of being a father himself, he knew how Jon felt. "She'll have him wrapped round her little finger."

"She already does." Erika smiled and sat back, just watching as one of her closest living friends did a little bonding with her baby. She even managed to pull out her camera and snap a few more pictures. She was going to have so many when Serena was discharged, but she didn't mind. Every picture told a story, and there were many stories here, all of them happy.


	36. Chapter 36

**It's time to take baby Serena home!  
>Shin xx<strong>

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><p><strong>January 30th 2162<strong>

Jon was finally managing to get everything sorted, and he was well aware that Erika was struggling right now to keep herself calm. They hadn't really expected today to come this quickly, but it had. Serena was being discharged. It hadn't been a big planned out change, the day before yesterday they'd sat down with the staff, yesterday they'd told their family, and today Serena was going home. They'd made all the arrangements and now it was all happening. "Today's the day, huh?" Caroline, the nurse, came in and smiled at them, clearly noticing that they were both feeling a little nervous.

"Yeah, we're finally getting out of here. 5 weeks on." Erika started answering long before Jon could say anything. He was just too busy pacing around, hoping beyond hope that nothing was going to stop. "Jon took the day off to come and collect us, my brother and sister have even brought the whole family up for the weekend." Jon hadn't been entirely sure that they'd come, but this morning they all turned up.

"You're having a party?" Caroline asked, and Erika turned round and looked at him, a very wide grin on her face.

"I think so." He answered this time with a smirk. He actually knew they were having a party, but it probably wasn't the best to say right there. "We'll make sure Bunny is kept away from too many bugs." He was a little worried about Serena being around so many people.

"Just keep an eye on her, you don't want her to get sick again and end up back here." Caroline smiled, tickling Serena's feet as she did. It just caused the baby to open her eyes and squeak in the way she often did when she was unhappy about being woken up.

Erika looked between the people in the room, then picked up Serena and grinned, holding her hand out for the hat that Jon had been keeping hold of. "Thank you, Caroline. For everything you've done." He agreed completely with Erika's thought, because the staff here had been fantastic.

"Yeah." Jon had to agree, and he smiled as he thought of something else he could say. "We're not going to forget you, or anyone here." There was so many people who had ensured Serena got to where she was today, as healthy as any baby home with their parents.

"Just be sure to keep us updated as she grows up. Good luck." Caroline grinned then turned and headed out of the doorway again. It was hard for him to believe that they were actually leaving and taking Serena with them.

"We will." Erika nodded, and Jon had to agree. That was when he realised that the size of the pram he'd brought on Erika's orders. It was huge, and he wasn't quite sure how he'd got it out of the apartment.

"Have you ever thought this is too big?" He asked, but Erika just looked at him with a smirk, and it seemed like nobody was going to be paying any attention to the fact that he thought this was too big. "I mean I managed to get it out of the apartment, but it's harder than I expected."

"Well, we'll figure it out." She replied and rubbed Serena's back, walking around the room. He was really thinking it was time they go, so he made sure all of their things that had miraculously moved over to this room with them were on the bottom grille of the pram ready to go.

"I can't believe this is actually happening." He was finally ready for this, and it was time that they left. So as soon as he confirmed that everything was there he nodded to Erika, who just lead the way, carrying Serena and a huge smile all across her face.

"Let's get some pictures, so we can put them on the wall." Elizabeth Cutler was the first person to see them when they made it into the main part of the NICU, and Jon couldn't help as he grinned, looking at them. "Come on daddy." Cutler waved at him.

That was the first time she called him anything other than he rank, and he quite liked the sound of it. Anything other than his rank right now sounded good to him. "I think I prefer you calling me that than Admiral, Elizabeth." He then stepped up beside her and wrapped his hand around her shoulders, giving her a squeeze. "Thank you for everything."

"Thanks everyone here. I wasn't sure today would come."

"We're glad to see you going." Cutler replied again, rubbing Erika's arm as she did. Then held out a PADD for him to take, addressing the baby who was quickly falling asleep in her mother's arms. "Goodbye Serena. Here are your discharge instructions."

He paused after a few minutes, letting Erika put the now sleeping Serena into the pram and taking over. He fell into step beside her and just smiled, still finding it amazing to know they'd left. They were out the door and heading toward home, when he heard Erika start speaking. "Wow, we actually left."

"Are you nervous?" Jon asked, almost certain that she was. Because he was. He was absolutely terrified that Serena wouldn't be happy about something, or that she would be in trouble. But right now he was sure that she was fine.

"A little. We've not actually had her home or on our own without the nurses and doctors around." Erika paused, and she made a good point, they hadn't been alone with Serena, but he was still confident. He was about to say something when she continued. "So I do worry. But she hasn't needed any assistance for days so she should be fine."

"We'll all be fine, Rike." He put his hand over hers and smiled, wanting to reassure her that everything was really fine, and that they were both doing well, they were all doing well. "We will. Let's get her home."

Erika looked a little afraid, and he wasn't quite sure why. "Who's there?" That would explain why she looked so bothered. There was nobody in their apartment, right now. He was sure Simon and their families would have been eventually, but he'd convinced them that they needed the time to settle Serena, which was when they'd decided on a party.

"At home? Nobody." She let out a breath, looking quite clearly relieved that they weren't going to have to perform some sheep and cattle show for their friends as soon as they walked through the door. "They hired the hall for a party tonight, but we're not expected there for a little while. We have time to settle Bunny at home first."

"Good, I think I need a nap." Erika laughed, and Jon actually had to agree with her. A sleep seemed like a great idea. He could certainly get behind that, and he was pretty sure it would just make them both feel better. Especially since Serena was quite clearly happily asleep.

"I think we all do." He grinned as they turned onto their street. It was obvious that Erika was now beginning to slip into being sleepy. "We'll get Bunny in her basket, and we'll all have a little sleep." She was sleepy, Serena was asleep, and he was feeling like a nap wouldn't hurt.

"You are spoiling us now, we shouldn't sleep in the day." Erika chastised him with a smirk. It was clear she was going to fall asleep as soon as they got into their apartment anyway, so he didn't see the point in complaining about it.

"I don't see the problem."

At that moment one of their neighbours jogged down the steps. Jon thought that she was from the 10th floor, a few below theirs, but it was obvious that she was paying attention to their daughter. "Oh is this the baby we've heard so much about? She's beautiful. Well done."

"We apologise for the crying coming up." He commented with a laugh, since it was the easiest that he accepted that straight away.

"We're pretty well protected in this building, I'm sure she'll behave for her mommy and daddy. Congratulations."

"Thanks." Erika called after their neighbour then smiled at him and shook her head gently. "Are we going to have to go through that a lot?" She asked, and he just laughed at him.

"Probably. Come on Rike, let's get up." He started up the steps and then reached down and helped Erika get the pram up into the foyer of their building. They were going to be annoying until Serena was a little bigger. He's actually forgotten they existed.

They stopped, silently in the entry of their building. He just looked down again, making sure that Serena was happily still asleep. She was sound asleep, and he was just transfixed by her again. He was struggling to believe they were here. "Jon." He heard, pulling him away from her.

"Yeah?" Jon smiled, looking up and meeting Erika's eyes, though it was clear she was just as amazed they were home too.

"Thank you, too." She whispered, then stepped onto her tiptoes and kissed him lightly. All he could really do was stare at her, not at all sure what to say for a few seconds.

"I love you, OK." That was all he could think to say, too surprised that she'd decided to thank him for something he would have done regardless. "You never have to thank me for just being here with you and Bunny." He pulled her against him and kissed her forehead, smiling as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He still couldn't believe that she felt like she needed to thank him for being there with her, and for helping her through all of this. They were his family, and he couldn't imagine being anywhere else.


	37. Chapter 37

**Tosh gets to meet her baby. This is the penultimate chapter.  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>February 2nd 2162<strong>

Erika woke up and she wasn't entirely sure where she was for a moment, then she realised that she was home and the baby was still sound asleep. Serena had slept well recently, it seemed, and it meant that Erika was sleeping more than she probably should. She really needed to get out of that habit. It was then she heard the doorbell again, and realised there was someone at the inner door, meaning it was either Jon or Hoshi. She wandered through the apartment while yawning, then opened the door, glad to see Hoshi's smiling face. "We're still alright to visit, yeah?" She asked, probably noticing exactly how sleepy she looked and was feeling.

"Sure, come in." She waved her friend into the apartment, and Hoshi turned around, pulling the stroller through the door and then leaving it to the side. "I've only just gotten up again." Erika ran her fingers through her hair and then shook it out again, only now noticing that her hair had kinked while she was sleeping. At Hoshi's look she smirked and shook her head. "I'm taking the 'sleep when baby sleeps' section of the parenting books to heart."

"They were definitely the best part of those baby books." Hoshi agreed and laughed loudly. Erika grinned back, agreeing completely that the best of the baby books was the part that told her that she could sleep all the time. She liked being able to sleep all the time. Especially as Serena hated to sleep.

That did bring her to the question of what was going on with Toshiko, who was clearly still sat in the stroller. "Tosh asleep too?" She asked, hoping that that was all that was going on with her. Sometimes she knew Tosh would stay in the stroller if she was angry.

"Yeah, we've been to the park but I told her that she could visit Bunny." That was good to know, and it meant that before long Toshiko would wake up and no doubt ensure that everyone knew she wanted to meet the baby. Especially given that Serena was brand new, and Tosh would want to cuddle her.

"Leave her to sleep, I'll make some tea." It was all Erika could offer at the moment. Leaving Toshiko to sleep was probably the best idea right now too.

"How is Bunny doing?" Hoshi asked, and Erika just nodded happily. It was harder to believe that she was doing as well as she was, only because so much had happened.

None of that seemed to be affecting Serena though. She hadn't stumbled at all since she'd been delivered. She had been so early, but now she was great and she was making sure everyone in her universe knew she was here. Erika was proud of her for that, she obviously was taking after her parents in some ways. "Great, you wouldn't believe how she's doing. She can take a full bottle now."

"That's impressive." Hoshi sounded appropriately happy about it, and that proved exactly how much had changed recently. They both knew that things were going to keep changing too. After they'd both spent so long in Starfleet, and working on starships, it felt like nothing changed, but right there in the room with them was the proof that it did.

Serena's newfound ability to finish her bottles was yet another reminder. "110ml. Every bottle."

"It makes me glad to know that she's doing well." Hoshi echoed the well-wishes of almost everyone they had spoken to in the last few days. It was nice to hear it out of someone who knew them, and who had been here, in San Francisco, through the whole sorry affair. "Especially given how worried you were until recently."

"Jon and I are both glad to have her home now too. It's pretty amazing to believe that she has come as far as she has." She remembered the day they had spent just sat looking at her breathing with the machine, barely moving because it was too much effort for her. It was completely different now.

"Is that her?" Hoshi asked as a very loud screaming filled the room. It seemed like Serena was absolutely certain that everyone needed to know she was wide awake. As soon as Erika picked her up though she would quiet down, so she bounded over to the basket where Serena was sleeping and smiled as she picked the baby up.

"Oh yeah, she has a pair of lung." She turned back to Hoshi and shook her head with a laugh as Serena settled down. She always seemed to calm down when Erika picked her up and gave her a cuddle. Which was no doubt a relief for their neighbours. "Takes after me, apparently. Jon was always a quiet baby, and I never shut up."

Hoshi laughed, clearly having heard similar stories from her own family. "I understand that. I was apparently the same." Somehow that didn't surprised her, because Hoshi seemed like she would have been a loud baby, one that made sure everyone knew how she felt. "Must be something about linguists."

"Wonder if that means Bunny will have a talent for languages too." She hoped beyond hope that Serena ended up loving languages the same as she did, it would be something they could have in common, something to be proud of. It would piss Jon off no end though, and that would amuse him more. "Wouldn't that piss your daddy off, huh?"

"Jon not ever going to be happy with languages, is he?" Hoshi had obviously had similar trouble with Jon and how annoyed he could get at languages. Especially if he couldn't understand what was going on.

"Not at all. I've never known him to not be annoyed when he had to learn something in another language." She kept trying, and she always would keep trying, but she didn't hold much hope for trying to change his position on language and it's position in his life. He was a clever guy, but language just wasn't his strong suit.

Erika then bent down and handed Serena over with a smile. She was much happier to be able not to hold her daughter for a little while, just because it was a nice little break. "She is adorable." Hoshi smiled a few seconds later, and Erika had to agree, but that was largely because she was her daughter.

"She looks just like Jon. She's got my eyes and his everything else." Serena couldn't look anything less like Erika, but that didn't really bother her. She was far too happy about that, largely because Jon was very, very attractive. So maybe it was lucky that she was taking after him rather than after her. "Which I'm quite alright with. He's the most attractive person I ever met, so they aren't bad genes for Serena to have inherited."

"Maybe they are for a girl." Hoshi laughed and booped Serena's nose gently. "He's fairly masculine."

OK, Hoshi had a point there. Maybe if they ever considered having a second they'd have a boy who really would be best in inheriting Jon's genes rather than Erika's. Serena, in all likelihood, was going to look like her in the long run. "Well, maybe as she grows up she'll look more like me."

"I'm sure she probably will before long. Babies tend to look like their dad's for the first couple of years. Then I guess they look more like themselves." That was true. While Toshiko still looked like Trip, she looked a fair amount like Hoshi too, and there were still differences. It was still obvious who her parents were though. "Do you look like your mom?" Hoshi asked, and Erika didn't even need to think about it.

"Yeah, the spitting image. So are my nieces." Every girl in her family looked noticeably like her mom, which worked the best for her, not so much for everyone else in their hometown. "You wouldn't believe it. Likelihood is Serena will look like my mom too."

"Mommy." Came a voice from the corner, and Erika stood up and laughed, going letting Tosh out of her stroller.

"Look who else is awake!" Erika said, grinning at her. "Want to come and meet Bunny?" She asked, then sat back in her seat.

Toshiko looked amazed at the idea, like she couldn't believe that any of this was going on. That just made Erika snigger a little, because she was so excited, and it was hard to imagine that Toshiko would be as happy if the baby lived with them. "Can I?"

"Sure, if you sit on aunty Erika's knee you can even hold her." Hoshi nodded with a laugh.

"Really?" Tosh jumped up and down while laughing.

"Yeah, jump up here kiddo." Erika patted her knees with a smile, and a second later Tosh had bounced onto her knee, clapping her hands as she did. Erika had forgotten what it was like to deal with hyperactive toddlers, it had been so long since Carla and Amelia had been that young.

"Thank you." Tosh said as the baby was laid in their arms. Mostly in Erika's, but enough so that Toshiko was holding enough weight to believe she was holding the baby alone. Tosh had been so excited about the baby it just seemed fair that she get to feel like the big girl she was to hold her. "She's so little, was I so little?"

Hoshi laughed a little and sat forward, tickling Serena's tummy gently and looking at Tosh who started giggling. "Not quite that little, but you were a baby once, yes."

"Can I stay with Bunny?" Toshiko asked, clearly just happy to be sat there with the baby she'd waited so patiently to meet.

"For now, yes you can." Erika grinned, still keeping most of Serena's weight in her arms but letting Toshiko feel like she was holding the baby. It was good to see how gentle and calm she was, around the baby, which given Tosh's usual hyperactive disposition was a relief. Erika was glad to see how all this was coming together now.


	38. Chapter 38

**Here we go, the last chapter of this story. Tomorrow, I go back to posting only _one_ chapter, and on a whole new story. The next one is called "One More Round" Thanks so much, everyone, for reading this story, and I hope you enjoyed it!  
>Shin xx<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>February 4th 2162<strong>

His alarm woke him up, and seconds later his daughter made sure he didn't go back to sleep. Serena, was at least, not crying yet. She was just grumbling and making sure that Jon didn't go back to sleep which was probably very, very helpful. He would likely have fallen back to sleep regardless, without Serena's gentle encouragement. After a few minutes he got up, picking Serena out of the basket and mumbling to her as he left the room. "Hey kiddo, come on let's not wake your mommy up." He grabbed his uniform and headed to the bathroom. Laying Serena down on the changing table and lifting the side up a little.

"What, are you doing, huh?" He managed to ask her after pulling his uniform on. She was happier in here than she had been in the bedroom, but she still didn't seem like she was comfortable. As soon as he was all zipped up into his uniform, he picked her up again, and took her through to the living room. He still had a while before he had to leave, and all he wanted right now was to make sure that Serena didn't wake Erika up. His wife was so tired right now, and she deserved a morning off.

Serena didn't seem to be having the same thoughts about making sure his wife was able to sleep. Now she started crying properly, and he just wanted to beg her to go to sleep again. "Bunny, please." He begged, pulling out one of the bottles that Erika had slipped into the fridge, and he hoped that giving her a feed would settle her down. "You're gonna wake mommy up and she was up with you only a couple of hours ago." Eventually the bottle was full, and he settled onto the sofa, just trying to keep her calm and quiet.

"Come on kiddo you're not normally this stressful in the morning." He commented, trying to keep her taking the bottle, but she really wasn't keeping it down. I made him grumble, purely because she was going to wake Erika, and that wasn't going to work that well for him.

"Do you want your mommy, huh? Is that what the problem?" He really didn't want to wake Erika up, but he felt like right now it was probably a little more difficult to keep that up.

As he was thinking that, he suddenly felt a hand playing with the hair at the nape of his neck and looked up, seeing his wife sleepily joining him. Clearly they hadn't succeeded in not keeping quiet enough that she'd stayed asleep. He wasn't happy about that, but he was glad that Erika was there to help him with his fussy baby. "Serena still being fussy?" She asked, and Jon realised that clearly, Serena had been fussy all day.

"Did we wake you? I'm sorry." He handed her the bottle then wrapped his arm around her shoulder. It seemed that both her parents with her she settled a little quicker. "Yeah, she's not settling this morning." He commented, kissing Erika's cheek with a smile. Even when Serena wasn't settling, he was glad to just have his family there beside him.

"I think she's got a tummy ache, she didn't settle well this morning either." Erika tickled Serena's feet, which clearly angered the baby. At least it meant she was eating.

"Should we call the doctor?" Jon asked, he wasn't sure what he should do if Serena was sick. He'd never really been the most dependable at the hospital, and unsurprisingly he therefore had no idea what to do. Erika would know exactly what she should do.

"I already spoke to Elizabeth Cutler this morning." He'd been right, and Erika had definitely known exactly what they needed to do. That was completely unsurprising, given that she'd always known what she should do, and what their families should do. "She's going to stop in on the way home from work. She thinks it might just be a touch of colic."

He had actually heard of that, he seemed to remember Carla had it. That baby had never settled, and given everything he had forgotten from back then, remembering the tiniest, most miniscule details was sometimes surprising. "I've heard about that, it's not normally comfortable, right?"

"Not generally from what I could tell." Erika smirked, and leant against him a little more. He was quite happy to sit like that. He hated that he was going to have to go in to work today, because unsurprisingly he just wanted to be at home with his family. While Erika looked worried, she clearly didn't think it was too serious, and her following comment attested to that. "Or she might just have a tummy ache."

"Hear that Bun, you're gonna be checked on but you're probably fine." He grinned and laughed, picking her up a little and whispering to her, trying to point out that Serena really should have left her mother to sleep. "You really should have let your mommy sleep though."

Erika laughed and just shook her head. Tickling Serena again as she finally finished her bottle. "I'll sleep when she does today, it'll be fine." It seemed as though, suddenly, Erika realised that he was dressed and ready for work. It was definitely a good thing, and he laughed a little at her face. "Hey, you're in uniform? You back at work again?"

"Yeah. Half days for the next few days, then next week I'll go back full time, if you're ready for that." He wasn't actually sure _he_ was ready for that, but he was going to try at the very least. He needed to get ready for that.

"Jon, just do what you need to do, Bunny and I will be here." Erika kissed him gently and it made sense that he go back to work, they would start driving each other mental if they didn't spend some time apart. "I might go back to half days eventually. When Bunny is old enough for day care at command." He had already looked into that for her, knowing that she'd want to go back to work as soon as she could.

"I looked into that for you." He smiled, and she turned to look at him with a question. "That's at six months." He confirmed, and for some reason it didn't surprise him at all that Erika looked a little grumpier at that.

He didn't actually remember the last time Erika had taken time off work. He didn't think she ever had. There were plenty of ways she could contribute from home, but maybe eventually he'd be able to convince her to take half days, maybe they could get some help from outside of work. "Maybe we need to get a nanny, I might be going mad by then." That was probably not the best for her, not yet. He knew that there first day away from Serena she'd want to be home.

"We'll have to think about that but right now she, and you, are probably better at home." That would almost certainly be a bigger problem at the end, and she would be so annoyed at not being able to help, and at being home alone.

"Probably, we might come by and visit people today." Erika grinned, and for some reason Jon was sure she'd end up going in and doing loads of work for her team, letting them play with Serena as she did. "I want to check up on my team."

He smiled, knowing that she was going to do whatever she decided to do. "So, shall I leave you two here for the day?"

"You don't really have a choice, do you?" Erika didn't sound angry, or upset. Just tired and a little worried about being there on her own.

"Unfortunately not, love you." He leant over and kissed her hard, then laughed and kissed Serena's forehead gently. "You too bunny, be good for mommy today, huh?"

"She's _always_ good for me, it's daddy she misbehaves for." Erika commented, picking up their daughter from his lap with a grin. "It's daddy that Serena likes causing trouble for."

"Just like girls always do." He commented, and he loved that Serena already had him wrapped around her little fingers, and he knew that Carla and Amelia had Simon around their fingers, and Toshiko had Trip.

Erika rolled her eyes and smirked, which made him realise that she thought he was being ridiculous, which wasn't new. "You love her."

"I absolutely do, you too." He laughed, pressing her forehead to his and smiled, taking the time to just try and pretend he wasn't going to work. It didn't last too long, because he was going to be late if he didn't leave. "Now I really have to go, otherwise I'm going to be late."

"Have a good day, Jonathan." Erika smiled, and he couldn't help but lean down and kiss her again. The weeks that had passed since Serena's birth had helped them get to this point where they were suddenly both ready for everything that was being thrown at them. It wasn't easy, leaving them alone for the day, but he needed to do it. They were ready for everything that was coming now they'd gotten through all of this, and they'd be back working soon.


End file.
